


Guardians of my Heart Vol. 2 (xReader)

by darkavcngers



Series: Guardians of my Heart [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers - Freeform, F/M, Marvel - Freeform, Multi, XReader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-14 19:21:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 23
Words: 35,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28550793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkavcngers/pseuds/darkavcngers
Summary: Book 2After your year on earth you're finally going home. Now that you've discovered what Peter has been hiding from you, you'll have to hide your own secret. Loki.Peter is going to come with you and your family. But you won't be able to forget Loki so soon. And of course the god of mischief has his own plans...
Relationships: Peter Parker/Reader, Tom Hiddleston/Loki/Reader
Series: Guardians of my Heart [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2090631
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

"Because I'm coming with you."

The words echoe through my head. It takes me a second to process what Peter said. 

Then I start to panic. All I can think about was me kissing Loki just a few minutes ago. I was sure Peter and I would break up tonight and that was the only reason I kissed him. At least that's what I tell myself. 

But now we aren't breaking up which means I cheated on him. I give Steve a panicked look. He knows what is going through my mind right now. 

"Y/n?" Peters voice pulls me back to reality. 

"You can't come with me." The words come out quieter than I intended. 

Peters expression goes from happy to confused. 

"What do you mean? Of course I can. Your dad agreed."

I look at my father and he seems like he realised that he made a mistake by allowing Peter to come with us. 

"But... what about your life here? You can't just leave everything behind." 

"Y/n, I've thought about this for some time now and I am 100% sure I want to do this." He takes my hand in his and gives it a squeeze. 

"But what about..." I lower my voice remembering MJ was here "...your duties as Spiderman?"

Peter just grins. 

"Y/n, do you really think I haven't thought about that yet? I am completely sure that I want to do this. And unless you tell me you don't want me to come with you there's nothing holding me back."

I don't have any more arguments. I can't tell him I cheated. I just can't. There aren't any options left. 

"Okay. Then go get your stuff." I say defeated but I force myself to smile. 

Peter gives me a peck on the lips and goes off to get his stuff. 

I'm left alone in the middle of the room surrounded by everyone else. No one says a word and they're just staring at me. At least some of them must suspect my real thoughts about this.

I put on a fake smile and go to Steve who is still kind of drunk from the asgardian alcohol Thor gave him. 

People start talking again which gives me the chance to speak with Steve. 

"Why the hell didn't you tell me about this?" I whisper. 

"Well for one it was a surprise. And two I didn't expect you to react like this at least not until I saw you and Loki eating each other's mouths."

"Shhhh!" I put my hand over his mouth and frantically look around but it seems like no one heard. 

"Alright. But what am I supposed to do now? I can't tell him about the kiss!" My head starts aching and I feel a panic attack coming. 

"You know I'm not a fan of lying-"

"Oh yeah that's funny coming from the guy that kept this stupid surprise a secret and lied to me for I don't know how long." I snap. 

"Hey! That's something totally different. Surprises are supposed to make someone happy. And everyone thought this was a great idea so stop being mad at us. But I think you should tell Peter. And I suggest you do it now because otherwise you'll be trapped on that tiny ship for a year." Steve says. 

"This is too much for me. I think I'm gonna throw up." My breathing gets heavy and the room starts spinning. I see someone looking at me worriedly but I can't make out who it is and the next thing I know someone escorts me out of the room and to the bathroom. 

I drop to the floor and start crying. I don't care that whoever was in the room with me sees it I just have to let everything out. 

The person embraces me in a comforting hug and pets my head until I calm down. 

"Shh, it's gonna be alright just breathe." A soft voice says. 

"Natasha?" I look up into her face and immediately know I can trust her. She probably figured everything out already anyway I mean she's not a spy for nothing. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asks although she must know what happened. 

"I kissed Loki." I whisper and stare at the ground in shame. My eyes are empty and I just want to sleep. 

Natasha doesn't say anything so I keep talking. 

"I was so sure me and Peter were gonna break up tonight. But now I cheated on him and I didn't tell him and now I have to spend a year trapped in a spaceship with him but I can't tell him I just can't." I start crying again but Natasha wipes the tears away. 

"Listen to me. It was just a kiss. And we both know it's not right to lie to Peter but if you can't tell him and lying seems easier to you then I won't judge you. You know I'd be the last person to judge someone for lying."

I smile a little. 

"It's just... I would've told him but everyone was watching and I didn't want everyone to know so I lied. If it was just me and Peter then I could've told the truth but-"

"Hey, you don't have to justify yourself. I understand. Now let's fix your hair and makeup and go back to the others. Here's a tip. Pretend like your playing a character in a movie. Someone who didn't cheat, someone who didn't just have a breakdown, someone who's happy about her boyfriend joining her in space. Can you do that?" 

I nod and get up. I look into the mirror. The person staring back at me has puffy eyes, smudged mascara and messed up hair. 

Nat starts brushing my hair while I take a makeup wipe and clean up my face. 

I put on the best fake smile possible and stare at myself in the mirror. This time the person looking back at me seems determined and strong. 

"Let's do this."


	2. Chapter 2

Lying to strangers is the easiest thing in the world. But lying to the people closest to you, the people you love, your family, that's harder than expected. 

Natasha's words give me strength. I know I can do this. Until my dad approaches me. 

"Hey, sweetheart. I'm guessing I messed up big time?" He says. 

Now all I have to do is play my role. Convince him and myself that what I am saying is true. 

"What? No! I was just surprised that's all."

"Are you sure? Cause it seemed like you wanted him to stay here. And then you walked off with this red haired woman which probably means you had a deep conversation."

"Natasha? Oh she just wanted to lecture me on making sure to use protection but I told her that's not necessary since Peter and I definitely won't have sex any time soon sooo..."

I want to slap myself. Am I completely stupid? I'm talking to my dad about having sex couldn't I have thought of literally anything else?

"What? Why are you telling me this? That's not something a father wants to know. Although I'm happy you're not doing the... the... frick frack just yet."

Oh god. Abort mission. 

"Ehhh yeah. Good we talked about this." I give dad an awkward clap on the shoulder and take off. 

I see Steve and Bucky in the corner of the room and decide to talk to them while we wait for Peter to return with his things. 

"I just had the cringiest conversation with my father do you have any of the asgardian alcohol left?"

"Sorry, Thor only brought two bottles and they're long gone." Steve says. 

"That sucks. Anyway. Steve. I need you to tell Loki about this okay. Tell him Peter's coming with me."

"I will. Promise."

I smile at him and Bucky wraps an arm around me. 

"How'd you like the surprise?" He asks. 

Again I have to put on a show. 

"Well... it definitely surprised me. In a good way of course. I definitely wasn't expecting that."

"I'm glad you liked it. I wasn't really sure about it since it's a big decision and I think Peter should've talked to you about it first but if you don't have a problem with it..." 

"Yeah, a small warning would've been nice. But I didn't expect anything so next time any of you want to surprise me please try to give me signals before you do it." I grin and Bucky chuckles.

Peter walks back in the room with a big suitcase. 

"I'm ready guys!" He yells happily.

I take a deep breath and walk over to Peter. 

"Are you really sure you want to do this? We can't guarantee your safety and you'll leave everything on earth behind. Your friends, your family, being Spiderman..." I whisper. 

"Y/n... how many times do I have to tell you? I am 100% sure I want to come with you and I'm aware of the risk I take and the people I left behind." Peter smiles at me. 

"Fine." I sigh. "Then let's get your stuff onto the ship."

We bring his suitcase into my room on the ship. It's really small and the only thing inside of it is my bed and some shelf's on the side. 

Dad isn't really happy about me and Peter sleeping in one room or more specifically in one bed but since we don't have any more rooms on the spaceship he had to agree.

"It's really small. You would rarely have any time for yourself so if you changed your mind and want to stay on earth-"

"Oh shut up." Peter says and pushes me playfully. 

"Sorry. I just wanna make sure you know exactly what you're getting yourself into." 

We go back to the others to say goodbye. This time without any surprises. 

May is crying and saying how she regrets agreeing to this. It seems like she won't let Peter go but eventually he gets away from her hug. 

We stand in front of the Milano's entrance and look back at everyone one last time. 

"Okay, Peter. Last chance to change your mind and stay on earth. Where you're safe and among your family..." I tell him. 

Peter just smiles at me before entering the Milano and I follow him defeated. Every attempt to change his mind failed and now it's too late. The doors close behind me and I walk to the cockpit where my dad is already sitting ready to start the ship.

I show Peter where he can sit and how he puts on his seatbelt. I sit down on the seat next to him and look outside the window. We can see the Avengers, Ned, MJ and May waving at us and I feel tears fill my eyes again. 

Peter takes my hand in his and smiles reassuringly before my dad starts the ship. Happiness floods my body at the familiar shaking of the engines starting. 

We slowly take off and are now hovering above the others outside. The ship gets higher and higher and I can tell by his sweaty hands that Peter is nervous. 

My dad turns around to look at Peter. 

"You ever flown in a spaceship before, kid?" Dad asks and grins at Peter. 

"No, sir. The closest thing I ever got to flying in a spaceship was flying in a plane." Peter says. 

My dad scoffs. 

"Planes... They're nothing compared to this! Oh and you don't have to call me sir. Although it makes me feel like a responsible authority person or whatever."

We are so high now we can't make out any faces of the Avengers anymore. 

"Hold on, guys!" Dad yells before he pulls down the lever to reach full speed. We get pushed back into our seat and Peter squeezes my hand in surprise which makes me chuckle. 

We exit the atmosphere and the spaceship starts shaking and making loud noises. They are totally normal but Peter shuts his eyes and keeps squeezing my hand like he's about to die. 

After that the shaking and the noises stop and we fly smoothly through the galaxy although we are still flying pretty fast. 

The earth is far behind us when I notice Peter still hasn't opened his eyes. 

"Peter, you can open your eyes now." I giggle and watch him hesitantly open his eyes. 

"Woah." He whispers at the view outside. To me it's nothing special but he's mesmerised. 

I watch him happily. How his eyes light up. How he can't stop smiling. 

And suddenly I remember how I felt the first time I saw him. 

And I think maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.


	3. Chapter 3

5 days later

We show Peter all the important stuff in the Milano and tell him how everything works. Except flying the ship. Dad is afraid he'd crash it but I make sure he at least sees how we fly it. 

"Okay, Peter. What's that lever for?" I ask him making sure he remembers. 

"Increasing the speed?" He asks hesitantly. 

"Is that a question?" I ask and grin when he shakes his head. 

"What about this button?" I continue. 

"Umm..."

"Peter, you have to concentrate. In case of emergency I want you to be able to fly the ship no matter what my dad says."

"Yeah, I know. It's for... opening the door."

I sigh. "No, that's that button over there. Think harder."

I know Peter doesn't like this but it's very important to me. When you're in space you have to know how to fly a spaceship. 

"For shooting?"

"It's for starting the engines. Peter, if you don't even know what button you have to push to start the engines then you definitely won't be able to fly the ship." I rub my temples and lean back in my seat. 

"I know, y/n. I'm sorry." Peter looks ashamed at the ground making me feel bad. 

I sigh and take his hand in mine. 

"It's fine. We'll just keep practicing this until you're a pro." I say and give him a kiss on the cheek. 

Suddenly something starts beeping which makes Peter jump and look at me in horror. 

"Oh god. I'm not ready to fly the ship please tell me this is not the time you're depending on me."

I giggle. "Oh, Peter. Calm down. It's only signalling that we're low on fuel."

"Alright. Let's see where the nearest place is to get some. Dad!"

Dad gets out of his room still sleepy. To be fair it is 3am. 

"God damn it. Rocket you little shit I thought you filled the tank before our trip to Terra!" He yells. 

Rocket's head pops up from his room. 

"What? No, I thought Drax did? Drax you idiot! Didn't you fill up the tank?!" Rocket screams. I'm sure by now the whole ship is awake. 

"Tank? What tank?" Drax yells from his room. 

"What do you mean what tank? How do you think this ship is getting fuel?!" Rocket yells back. 

Drax walks out of his room. 

"I don't know. I always kinda wondered about that." 

One look at dad reveals he is already accepting the death of the universe because we're probably the last people in the galaxy you should count on to be of actual help. 

Gamora comes out of her bedroom and stops next to me before taking a look at the monitor. 

"It doesn't matter. Looks like the nearest place is Knowhere. And we all know no one on this ship takes any responsibility anyway so why do you fight about things like that every single time?" She says annoyed while pressing some buttons.

————————————————————————

We get to Knowhere and Peter is mesmerised. It is the first planet (besides earth of course) that he visits. Although Knowhere wasn't really a planet. 

"Woah! It looks like a giant head!" Peter exclaims excitedly. 

"Yeah, it's the severed head of some ancient celestial being. It's mainly used for mining and as a trading outpost." I explain. 

"Awesome." He whispers and stares out of the window as we get closer and closer. 

"Hey, y/n. Why don't you take Peter to The Collector's museum while we get some fuel and other supplies?" Gamora suggests. 

"What? Gamora, do you honestly think that's a good idea? The Collector seems kinda... weird." Dad steps in. 

"Oh come on, dad. I know he's weird but there's no place in the galaxy where Peter can see and learn more. And I can protect myself..." 

Dad sighs. 

"Fine. You have an hour." He finally gives in. 

We fly into the head and look for a landing spot. Meanwhile Peter puts on his spidey suit and I put on my outfit that matches my dad's.

As soon as we land Peter and I get off and start walking towards The Collector's museum.

"Come on! I promise you you'll want to spend as much time there as possible and if you don't hurry now you'll regret it later." I say to Peter while pulling him with me. 

He laughs and then picks up his pace. 

Some people stare at us and I can tell Peter feels a little uneasy because they all look strange to him. 

We reach the museum and get stopped by some guards. 

"Stop. Do you have permission to meet the collector?" One of them asks. 

"I'm y/n Quill. He kinda owes me and my family so I think that's permission enough."

Peter gives me an unsure look because I'm so bold. 

"Why would he owe someone like you?" The guard asks in a way that shows he thinks he's something better than me. 

"Oh, I don't know maybe because he almost blew me and my family up!" I say harshly. 

"That's true I remember that." The silent guard whispers to the other who just sighs. 

"Fine. Come in." He finally gives in and let's us pass. 

"You're insane! I thought he'd kill us!" Peter laughs.

"Oh, please. I deal with much worse people on a daily basis I think I can handle some dumb guards." I say cockily. 

We enter the museum and the Collector is nowhere to be seen. 

"Whoa." Peter gasps when he sees it. I can only imagine how overwhelming this must be for him. 

"Now what have you brought me?" An excited voice says from behind revealing the Collector. 

"I'm not here to give you anything. I'm here to show my friend your collection." I say. 

"Friend?" Peter whispers confused but I ignore him. 

"Remember. You kinda owe me." I add. 

"Y/n Quill. Where have you left the rest of your team?"

"The rest of my family is getting some fuel. They know I'm here so don't try anything stupid."

"What an unjustified accusation!" He gasps and acts like he's hurt. 

"Y/n, maybe we should just go." Peter whispers. 

"No." I glare at him and then at the Collector. 

"Let me give you a tour." He smiles and then signals us to follow him. 

He shows us his most precious possessions and Peter is mesmerised.

"Peter. Where exactly are you from?" He asks innocently. 

Peter gives me an unsure look before he answers. 

"I'm from earth."

"Ah. Terra. But I can sense you are not normal, are you?" 

I stop him before he can answer because I know exactly what game the Collector is playing. 

"He's not for sale so back off." 

"For sale?" Peter asks nervously. 

"Why don't you tell me what makes him special and I'll make you an offer you can't refuse." The Collector grins. 

"Trust me, nothing you offer will be worth more than he is worth to me." I say and start pulling Peter towards the exit. 

"No no no, wait!" The Collector runs after us and blocks the way. 

"One billion units!" He yells and Peters eyes get big. 

"Goodbye." I say coldly and walk past him while still pulling Peter with me. 

"Two billion!" He yells after us but we're already outside. 

————————————————————————

"He wanted to buy Peter." I tell the others when we're finally back at the ship. 

"I told you you shouldn't go! That guy's a psychopath and we know damn well we can't trust him." Dad says angrily. 

"Yeah, I know. But Peter got to see his whole collection!"

"How much did he offer?" Rocket asks casually. 

"Two billion units."

"What?!" Rocket and dad yell in unison earning a disapproving look from me and Gamora. 

"Do you think he'll offer more than that?" Rocket asks. 

"We're not selling Peter!"


	4. Chapter 4

6 weeks later

Peter and I lie next to each other in my bed. I'm staring out of the little window enjoying the view of the galaxy which I've missed so much while being on earth. 

His hands start softly touching me and his lips find their way to my neck. I keep staring out the window and my thoughts drift back to another person worlds away. Loki. 

I don't react and Peter suddenly stops and sits up to stare at me with a worried expression on his face. 

"What's going on with you?" He asks softly. 

I nervously bite my lip and keep looking at the galaxy just to avoid staring into his eyes. 

"My family is right outside, Peter..." 

He lies down again and sighs. 

"I know that's not the reason you've been so distant lately... y/n you could've told me that you didn't want me to come with you..."

My heart starts pounding. Does he know all the thoughts I've kept from him? About Loki? About me not wanting him here? No. How could he?

"That's ridiculous Peter. Why would I not want you here?" I say trying to play it cool.

He sighs again. 

"See, that's what I've been asking myself. Maybe it's time you stop pretending and start telling me the truth." Peter demands. 

I open my mouth to finally tell him all the secrets I've kept from him when the ship starts shaking. 

"What was that?" I ask a look of panic and worry on my face. 

"I don't know but I am definitely not ready to fly this ship!"

We both jump off the bed and hurry outside where the others are staring outside at something in front of us while dad and Rocket push all sorts of buttons.

"What's going on?" 

"Someone's shooting at us!" Gamora tells me.

"Who?" I step closer to the window to get a better look at whoever's attacking us. 

"We can't defend ourselves there are too many of them!" There are at least a hundred spaceships in front of us who knows how many are behind our ship. 

"What do they want?"

"Well... I might or might not have let something slip into my pockets when we stopped on Hala." Rocket admits and everyone shoots him a look. 

"Are you kidding me?! So you're saying the people attacking us are Kree?" I shout.

Gamora turns to me and Peter. 

"Y/n, listen to me. I need you and Peter to take the emergency ship and get as far away from here as possible. We'll try to solve this problem but I need you guys to be safe." She says calmly. 

"No! I'm not lea-"

"Go!"

She pushes me toward the emergency ship and I stop resisting. I need to get Peter to safety. The only reason he's in this mess is because of me. Because I'm a coward who was too scared to tell him the truth. 

I start the ship and look at my family one last time before starting the flight to safety. 

"Peter! I don't know what's gonna happen but you might need to fly this damn ship. It's the same system so all you have to do is use your brain!" I tell him while I try to avoid the gunfire. 

"I don't know if I ca-"

"This is the wrong time to question your skills, Parker!"

The ship shakes when we get hit by one of their guns. 

"Someone's following us! Fly faster!" He screams but I'm already flying at full speed. 

"The next jump point is only a few clicks away we're almost out of here! Can you see what's going on with the others?"

"I can't see them I can only see these weird laser beams being shot around!"

I concentrate on avoiding the ones being shot at us. 

"Two clicks!" 

The ship starts shaking uncontrollably and the sound of one of our engines exploding is deafening. 

"We're hit!" Peter squeaks. 

"I'm aware." I say through gritted teeth trying to keep the ship steady but failing miserably. We start flying down right and there's nothing I can do about it. 

"We're not gonna make it to the jump point. Not like this. Peter, you need to fly this ship. No arguing. I'm going out there and try to fix the engine."

"But you're gonna get shot!"

"It doesn't matter I can heal myself so just do what I told you!"

I push a button behind my ear and a mask appears. The same one my dad has. Then I secure myself with a rope and open the exit. 

I jump outside and almost immediately get jerked back because of the rope. I use the boost from my shoes, again the same one my dad owns, to get to the broken engine. 

Luckily I have fixed enough broken things with Rocket so I know what I have to do. I start getting to work and get almost hit by one of the laser beams. 

The pilot of the Kree ship seems to be really bad at aiming which I'm thankful for otherwise this would not be as easy. 

In just three minutes I manage to fix the engine and am just barely hit for about four times. 

"Done. I'm coming back in. You're doing great." I tell Peter over the intercom and start making my way back. 

"Thanks. But hurry up, please!"

I roll my eyes at him although he can't see. Then I start pulling myself in at the rope. I'm only a couple feet away when suddenly a laser beam goes right through the rope. 

Desperately I try keeping my balance but it's no use since I'm now spinning really fast. Space really is a bitch sometimes.   
My shoes are no help either their just causing me to keep drifting away faster. 

For a split second each spin I can see the ship with Peter in it getting smaller and smaller. 

"Peter? You might need to fly that ship for a little longer." I say over the intercom. 

"What? Why? What's happening? Are you okay?" He asks, obviously worried. 

"I'm fine. I'm just kind of drifting farther away each second." I chuckle nervously. 

"What?! Where are you I'll come and get you!" He shouts. 

"To the left a little bit beneath you. Maybe you'll see me. I'm the little spinning dot in the distance." I joke. 

No answer. 

"Peter?"

The connection broke and all the spinning is making me dizzy. 

I can't see the ship anymore and I'm completely disoriented. 

Then I black out.


	5. Chapter 5

Next thing I know I'm on some strange planet lying on the ground in mud and surrounded by trash. 

"Ughhh..." I groan and rub my head which is aching horribly. 

Where am I? Looking around I can only see trash and more trash. 

Carefully I stand up to get a better view of my surroundings. There's literally just trash lying around everywhere. But in the distance I can make out something that looks like a city so I start walking towards it. 

After almost two hours of walking I finally get close to it. There are people walking around and I make sure they don't see me. Who knows if I can trust them. 

Once I notice that those people don't even acknowledge me even though a few of them spotted me I walk down the streets like I'm one of them and start exploring the city. 

It's not that interesting. Everything looks the same and although the people give off friendly vibes I'm not in the mood to befriend anyone.

The first night is horrible. I have to sleep on the streets with only some old fabric I found as a blanket. To make things worse I haven't eaten in who knows how long and I'm on the edge of dehydration. I thought of drinking out of a puddle but the water is probably contaminated because of all the trash.

I can barely sleep because I worry about my family and Peter. For all I know they might be dead. I don't even know if I'm ever going to see them again. How would I even get off this planet without a spaceship or a plan. 

The next day I decide to ask someone for help. But all the people look like they don't have a clue of what's going on and so I have to search for someone who seems actually helpful. 

I walk down an alleyway hoping I'll just run into someone who's able to help me. 

Just as I am about to turn right someone grabs me and pulls a bag over my head so I can't see anything. 

I try to fight back and throw punches at whoever is about to kidnap me. The person is strong and makes sure to keep at least one of my arms in place. But finally my fist hits their face and their grip around me loosens. 

I rip the bag off my head, turn around and kick the person away from me. Once they tumble back I can see that it's a woman. 

I grin triumphantly and am about to run away when she throws something at me. There's a little sting in my neck. 

"I didn't want to do it that way because you're just a kid but..." She holds up a remote and presses the button. 

Electricity floods my body and I start shaking. The pain is almost unbearable and before I can use my power to fight against it I black out.

————————————————————————

I slowly wake up. Everything is dark. I'm strapped onto a chair unable to move. 

There's a sudden flash of light and I'm surrounded by stars and planets. It's like I'm floating through the galaxy. 

"Fear not, for you are found. You are home and there is no going back. No one leaves this place." A soothing voice echoes. 

"What the hell?" I murmur and start looking around trying to find the source of the voice. 

"But what is this place? The answer is Sakaar." The voice says and continues to explain the origins of this planet but I stopped listening. 

Sakaar. The name sounds familiar but I have no idea where I've heard it before. I keep thinking about it but I just don't remember. 

"Prepare yourself. Prepare yourself." The voice echoes and I drop the thought. 

"You are now meeting the Grandmaster."

Suddenly I'm not floating through space anymore. I'm in a room surrounded by people. In front of me sits a man who is probably this Grandmaster the voice mentioned. He's wearing some kind of golden bath robe I guess and next to him the woman who kidnapped me as well as another woman. The man seems intrigued. 

"Now what have you brought me today scrapper 142?" He asks my kidnapper. 

"A contender." 

He let's out a giggle. 

"That's a child. I don't think she- it is a 'she' right?" He asks and the woman just nods.   
"I don't think she is any kind of contender."

"Believe me she is. She tried to fight me."

"Yeah, 'cause you fucking kidnapped me, psychopath!" I yell at her gaining their attention. 

"I wanna get closer. I want to get a good look at this." The Grandmaster says and his chair moves closer and he looks me up and down. 

"I honestly don't think she can fight. She's just not strong enough." He says. 

"Once I'll get out of this chair I'll show you how strong I am." I give him an angry look but he just grins. 

"Would you look at that she's threatening me. She reminds me an awful lot of Sparkles." The woman he referred to as scrapper 142 laughs halfheartedly. 

"I take 6 Million." She tells him. 

"She's not worth that much." For the first time the other woman at his side speaks up. 

"Just transfer the damn units, Topaz." He tells her. 

"Hey! I'm not that cheap!" I yell and try to get my hands free. 

"Bring her to the others. Maybe she can do some of the minor opening fights." The Grandmaster orders and some of his men drag me away. 

I get thrown into some kind of cell. There are two other people in there who seem to be prisoners as well. 

"Aren't you a little young to be fighting?" One guy asks me. 

"I think skill is the only thing that matters. Not age." 

He nods slowly and eyes me. 

"I'm Volan and this is Algorab." He points to the other guy who waves in respond. 

"I'm y/n. Are you the only prisoners?"

"Yeah. I've been living here for many years. Then one day this guy came and suddenly all hell breaks loose. People started a rebellion. Algorab and I tried to overthrow the Grandmaster. Our plan backfired as you can see. But we're still alive. Others weren't so lucky..."

"I'm sorry. How long ago was that?"

"Couple thousand years I guess."

"I'm sorry what?!" I ask in shock. 

"Time around here works different. Over 60,000 times faster to be specific."

"Wait. So you mean technically no time has passed since I got here? Everything's basically the same out there?" 

"Yep. Be prepared to spend a loooong time on this planet. You barely age and there's basically no hope for rescue because the people out there probably haven't even noticed you're gone yet." 

Great.


	6. Chapter 6

Five weeks have passed since I got here. All I've seen are the walls of this stupid cell. Volan told me how lucky I am because I didn't have to fight anyone yet. But to be honest I'd rather fight than sit in this damn cell all day.   
He fought and won three times since I got here.

Algorab left for a fight about a week ago. He never returned. Volan didn't seem sad. Which is weird because they spent a couple thousand years together in here. If I'm completely honest he kinda creeps me out. He doesn't seem to care about anyone but himself and can be pretty violent sometimes. Yesterday he beat up a guard because he wouldn't give him more food. 

"Get up! The grandmaster wants to see you fight today!" One of the guards yells at me. 

"You too, Volan! Let's see who's the stronger one of the two of you!" The guard laughs and I give Volan a surprised look. But he apparently doesn't care.

The guards take us to get ready for battle. There are a few weapons we can choose from but to me none of them seem like a good choice. But since I don't want to go in there empty handed I decide to go with a sword. Let's hope all the training with Gamora pays off. 

Then I have to dress up properly. They give me some kind of armour which is poorly made and probably just there for aesthetic purposes. A woman braids my hair so it's out of my face but still long in the back. Again I guess they just want me to look good for this. 

Someone even paints my face to make me look like a real warrior and at this point I am one hundred percent sure that they don't care wether I live or die. They just want the crowd to see people fighting and looking good while doing it. 

The guards lock me into a room which leads to the arena. They tell me to wait for the gates to open. 

I guess these might be my last moments. Although I think I'm a pretty good fighter I know that Volan will not be easy to beat. He's been fighting for thousands of years and won every single fight. I'm sure I'm not even the strongest opponent he's had so far. 

My thoughts drift off to Peter whose all alone out there in a spaceship he barely knows how to fly. I wonder if he's still alive. For him it's been less than a minute but that's still long enough to be killed. 

I don't allow myself to think of my dad and the other guardians. Their chances of survival are not very high. Neither are mine I guess. Maybe getting killed now is better than waiting thousands if not millions of years for someone to find me. 

I don't have time to start crying because I get interrupted by the gate opening. The crowd is cheering. Volan is nowhere to be seen and I start walking towards the center of the arena. 

I wait for another gate to open and for Volan to step outside. But nothing happens. I look around confused and then I see it. An already open gate. 

Before I can process what that means I get kicked into my stomach and fly a couple feet through the arena. I gasp for air and look around frantically to get a look at Volan. But I can't see him. 

Suddenly something chokes me and lifts me into the air. At first I think he must use some kind of magic but then he appears right in front of me where just a second ago was supposedly nothing. He chokes me harder and I can't even use my powers to heal myself because that's neither a wound nor poison. I already accept my death when Volan throws me to the ground. 

I cough and gasp. He just stares at me with a devilish grin across his face. 

"You're... invisible." I manage to get out still breathing heavily. 

"Damn right I am." He says and vanishes right in front of my eyes. 

Then I feel unbearable pain in my thigh and scream in shock. Volan appears again and I can see the reason I'm in this much pain. His blade went right through my thigh. I drop to the ground and he pulls the blade out and stabs it into my shoulder. What he doesn't know is that this gives me time to heal the wound in my leg. 

He pulls the blade out again and looks at me sitting in front of him supposedly defeated and bleeding out from the wounds when in reality they're already healing at incredible speed. But I try acting like I'm still in pain. 

"This is boring. You're not even trying to fight. I thought you said you're a fighter." He chuckles and looks at the crowd triumphantly. 

I take the chance to pull out my sword from behind my back. When he finally realises what I'm doing it's too late. The blade cuts through his right arm making him drop his blade and leaving a giant wound behind. 

I smirk and get up to finish this but before I can he vanishes again. I desperately try swinging my sword at him but all I hit is air. 

Then I hear footsteps behind me and turn around as fast as I can but before I'm able to swing my sword at him his blade goes straight through my stomach. I drop my sword and look at Volan who is now visible again. 

"I'm sorry, y/n. This is nothing personal." He says and turns his blade inside of me. I want to scream in pain but nothing comes out. He takes a dagger from his belt as I sink to my knees. 

This is it. He'll finish me now and not even my powers can help me anymore. I can't heal myself while the blade is still inside of me. 

I watch him tower over me his dagger ready to go through my brain. 

The crowd who was completely silent the whole time starts to mumble. 

"Say 'goodbye, Volan'." He grins and is about to stab his dagger through my head. But suddenly it's like he's frozen. He starts spitting blood and that's when I see the dagger that's been stabbed through his throat from behind. 

"Goodbye, Volan." I hear from behind him. He sinks to the ground revealing my savior. 

"This seems oddly familiar. Only this time it's you with the blade through their stomach."

I chuckle although it hurts a lot. 

Standing in front of me is no other than the god of mischief himself.


	7. Chapter 7

I groan while I pull the blade out of my stomach. Loki crouches down next to me, his hand resting on my shoulder. When the blade is removed I throw it aside and start the healing process. Finally the pain fades away and I'm able to let reality sink in. 

"You're here." I whisper and give Loki a tight hug not wanting to let him go ever again. He wraps his arms around me and rests his chin on my head. 

"Told you I would come looking for you, didn't I?" Loki pulls away and smirks at me. 

"To be honest I'm a little offended. I already planned on heroically breaking you out of that cell. So thanks for ruining that." I cross my arms and jokingly glare at him. 

He chuckles but his smile quickly fades away when he notices a dozen guards walking towards us. 

"What now?" I ask. 

"I didn't plan that far. Improvise."

The guards point their guns at us while shouting incomprehensible things. I glance at Loki trying to figure out what our next move is but surprisingly he raises his hands and surrenders. Although I think that's a stupid plan I follow his actions without question. 

We get put in chains and taken to a room where the grandmaster already awaits us. Scrapper 142 and another woman stand next to him. 

"I seriously don't think these chains are necessary. We surrendered." Loki says. 

"It was my idea. Thought you might like some flashbacks, Lackey." Scrapper 142 says and Loki rolls his eyes. 

"I want an explanation. And it better be good. I like a good story." The grandmaster demands. 

"Grandmaster. Old friend. It's been a while." Loki says earning a confused look from me. 

"I can explain. Y/n is a friend of mine. I couldn't just watch her getting killed. Surely you understand." His voice is calm. 

"I gotta say, you broke my heart. Tricking me. All those years ago. And-" The grandmaster starts but Loki interrupts him. 

"I am sorry. Asgard was in danger. I had no choice."

The other woman who just stood quietly next to him all the time immediately hands him some kind of weird looking stick. 

"What? No! He was just interrupting me put the melting stick away." The woman seems kind of disappointed but obeys. 

"I forgive you. And since you and I were very good friends..." The grandmaster pauses and looks at Loki seductively making Loki's cheeks turn only the slightest bit red. I'm looking from him to the grandmaster and back to him, being more and more disturbed from second to second. 

"Great. So how do we get off this planet? Will you give us a ship?" I ask impatiently but everyone just laughs. 

"Oh, you're not getting off this planet. No one does." The grandmaster explains. 

"But Loki did it once, right? I didn't know he was talking about this planet but I remember him telling me the story." I insist and turn my head to look at Loki but he doesn't seem very optimistic about another escape. 

"Only because he tricked me. That's not going to happen again. Unless..." He bats his eyelashes at Loki. 

"Can you show us where we'll be staying?" Loki changes the topic. 

One of the guards leads us to what seems to be a quite big apartment. The walls are covered in a green and white pattern which actually looks really nice. The guard leaves, leaving me and Loki alone. 

He sits down by the window while I start examining the apartment. Out of the corner of my eye I notice that Loki is watching me. 

"You know you're kind of creepy." I tell him with a smirk.

"I mean I know I'm terribly good looking." I add and my smile grows bigger thinking of the first night I snuck out to spend time with Loki. 

"Oh shut up." Loki replies playfully and I walk over to him sitting down beside him. 

"So tell me. Why are you here? How did you find me?" I've been wanting to ask him this since the second I saw him in the arena. 

"I told you I would come looking for you. And I meant it. The second you left my cell for the last time I began to plan my escape. It was simpler than one might think. They're all pretty oblivious and dumb and very easy to trick." This makes me chuckle. 

"But how did you get here so fast? You couldn't have known that I landed here that quickly since barely any time has past out there." 

"I found you the day you were on Knowhere."

"What?" I stare at him in disbelief. That was about six weeks ago in the 'real' world. 

"I saw you. And believe me, it took me a lot of self control not to talk to you..." His eyes are filled with pain. 

"I- I don't understand. Why didn't you?" I shake my head still unable to understand. 

"Trust me, I wanted nothing more than to talk to you, to hug you, to..." He trails off. 

"But when I saw how happy you were. With him. Peter. I just couldn't take that away from you." Loki stares at the ground not able to look into my eyes.

My hand find its way to his and our fingers intertwine. Now I'm the one who's not able to look into his eyes. 

"I wasn't... I wasn't that happy..." I mumble. "Not without you..."

Loki narrows his eyebrows in confusion and I bite my lip nervously. 

"What do you mean? I thought you two were in love?"

Expressing my emotions is hard. I just can't seem to put them into words and do them justice. 

"I mean... we are- or were in love. I don't really know. I've always been kind of confused about how I feel about him and- and you. I'm still not sure about my feelings. It's just so confusing... you confuse me."

Loki seems perplexed. He's just looking at me not sure of what to say. I can't blame him. 

"The worst part is... I meant to break up with Peter the night I left earth. I was so sure that our relationship would end that night. But then Peter told me he'd come with me and since then things have been weird between us. He doesn't even know about what- what happened between us that night and I don't know if I would've done what I did if I knew he was coming with me..."

Finally telling someone about this was honestly relieving. I couldn't talk to anyone about this until now and it feels as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. 

"I'm not very good at giving advice. But... just listen to your heart. For once think about what you want and not about what anyone else might think of it." Loki says and brushes a tear off my face I didn't even know was there. 

My eyes find his and I lose myself in them. I notice how pretty his eyes are. Depending on the light they sometimes look more green and sometimes more blue. Like a small lake that's hidden in a forest. Calm and mysterious. With a hint of danger. But at the same time trustworthy and comforting. 

I finally snap back to reality and clear my throat. 

"Thanks, Loki. I think we should get some sleep now. Today was pretty exhausting. I mean I am so tired I think I could sleep for a week straight." I chuckle and go to the bathroom to brush my teeth and get ready for bed. 

When I finally lie down on the giant bed it's Loki's turn in the bathroom. We have to share a bed but it's not like we haven't done that plenty of times before. But today feels different. 

I face the wall instead of facing Loki's side of the bed like I usually did. The bed shifts slightly when Loki gets in and that's the last thing I feel before drifting off into an uneasy sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

A nightmare wakes me up in the middle of the night. Loki is still sound asleep next to me and although I want him to embrace me in a hug and comfort me, I don't wake him. 

Instead I get up and sit by the window watching the city. Only a few lights are still on and I wonder what keeps those people awake at this time. Is it nightmares like the ones that keep haunting me in my sleep ever since I landed on this planet? Nightmares about their families? Because that's why I can't seem to close my eyes anymore. In fear of the loss and guilt I feel every night. Or maybe I'm the only one and they're just regular people who seem to have a different sleeping habit than what I'm used to.

I wrap my arms around my knees and close my eyes trying to forget the nightmare. It wasn't an actual nightmare. It was actually a really happy dream. I was in the Milano with the rest of the guardians and Peter. Everyone was happy. We were on the way back to earth while singing along to some tunes. Eventually, we arrived back on earth and were greeted by all of the avengers, Ned, MJ, aunt May and even Loki who was finally out of his cell and considered a real part of the family. I was so happy to be with everyone I loved. 

Then I woke up, the dream was over. And I realised it was nothing more than that. And that I'll probably never see anyone of them ever again. 

I didn't even notice the tears rolling down my face. There is nothing I can do to stop myself from crying and I don't even want to try. Before I knew it I was sobbing uncontrollably. I've never felt so alone before. 

I jump at the sudden feeling of a hand on my shoulder only to realise it's Loki. My sobbing must've woken him up and I feel guilty although he doesn't seem to mind. 

He doesn't say anything. Instead he pulls me into a hug and waits for me to calm down. I cry into his chest for a few more minutes until I'm finally able to control myself. 

"What's wrong, darling?" He asks softly. A few seconds pass before I finally answer. 

"It's just a nightmare. And the realisation that I'll never see my family or friends ever again..." I mumble as he strokes my hair tenderly. 

"You will see them again. I will make sure of that. But it's going to take some time to win back the grandmasters trust. And we need it to get off this planet."

"You've never really answer my question." I say absently. Loki raises his eyebrows at me so I elaborate. 

"How did you find me so quickly? Time here works differently so you must've either been here before me or you got here just seconds after I did."

"After I- I saw you on Knowhere I decided to keep my distance. But I couldn't get myself to leave you completely. I always stayed close enough to be there in case you needed me. Constantly debating wether or not I should just reveal myself to you."

He carefully brushes a strand of my hair out of my face before continuing. 

"Eventually, I decided it was time to leave. You were doing just fine without me and didn't seem to need my help. I watched your spaceship from far away and I was struggling to decide if I should go back to earth or somewhere else. I even thought about going to Sakaar again. Just as I was about to fly away I saw the first shot being fired at your ship. I waited to see if you managed to defend yourself. But more and more ships fired at yours and I knew you could never fight off all of them. I started my own ship to help you when I saw a smaller spaceship leaving your ship and flying to safety. And I knew you must've been in there. I flew towards you as fast as I could. But I was too far away to get there in time. Your ship got hit and I could make out a person trying to fix it from outside. That person turned out to be you. I watched you getting hit one more time and suddenly you were drifting off farther and farther into the abyss of space. I followed you, not caring about anyone else. I was still pretty far away when you were sucked into one of the gateways that leads to this planet. It took me only a few seconds to get there but like you said, time works different around here and I knew you would've already spent some time here before I finally arrived. And that's it. You know the rest." Loki finishes and we sit in silence for a while. 

I started to feel tired again. After all it's still in the middle of the night. 

"Thank you, Loki." I whisper. 

"For what?"

"For being here. I would be dead if it weren't for you. And even if I won that fight, I don't think I could stand living on this planet for thousands or millions of years. I don't know how long it would take me to just... end this."

He pulls away to look at me sternly. 

"You're strong. Even without me you wouldn't give up so easily."

I roll my eyes playfully and grin at him. 

"I'd still be dead. Volan would've killed me. There was nothing I can do."

Loki takes a second before he answers. 

"Maybe you're not that strong after all." He smirks and I push him away acting offended. 

"I'd still kick your ass." I say as I get up and jump back into bed. He watches me softly and I can't help but smile at him. 

He gets back into bed as well and stares at me as I cuddle up next to him. 

"Oh, I know you would."


	9. Chapter 9

1 month later

When I wake up, Loki is already gone. He's been helping the grandmaster in hopes of winning his trust back and getting us out of here. But so far he trusts him as far as he can throw him. 

I offered my help too but the grandmaster doesn't want it. Instead he ordered me to work together with Valkyrie. She is actually really nice and there are no hard feelings about her basically kidnapping me. But ever since I help her find new contenders for the famous contest of champions, she seems to let me do all the work and spends her time drinking bottle after bottle. 

I don't blame her. She has spent way too many years on this stupid planet and I just don't know how she does it. I've been here just over two months and if it weren't for Loki, I would've already killed myself. 

After I finish getting ready I leave the apartment and make my way to Valkyie's like I've done almost everyday this past month. I don't bother knocking because I know she's still sound asleep so I simply barge in and shake her awake. 

"Go away", she groans but that's not going to stop me from ripping away her blanket. 

While she gets up and mutters slight protests, I clean up the empty liquor bottles and open a window to let in some fresh air. This place basically reeks of alcohol. 

Valkyrie doesn't take long to get ready and we're on her ship doing our job in no time. 

"Where's the booze?" She furrows her eyebrows and looks around the ship in hopes of finding a bottle. 

"Sorry, Val. I threw it all away after what happened yesterday."

"You did what?!" 

I don't react and just start the engines. Upon noticing that, Valkyrie makes her way towards me and grabs one of my wrists harshly making me wince at the sudden pain. 

"Sorry...", she mumbles when she realises she hurt me quickly drawing her hand away and turning away from me. 

I rub my wrists and sigh. 

"It's fine. Just... let me help you, okay? I know you're trying to forget your past and drown your feelings in alcohol but that's not a solution. Plus I hate it when people throw up there's literally nothing I hate more and it took me a lot of strength to not crash this damn ship yesterday."

"I'm sorry. I did drink a little too much yesterday usually I don't throw up. But to be fair if you had flown a little more carefully I probably hadn't thrown up." 

I narrow my eyes at her and she smiles hesitantly.

"Just don't do it again and sit down. We have a job to do." I say and get ready for take off. 

We head north for a while, neither of us saying a word. It's not an uncomfortable silence though so it's fine. 

"This is pointless. Every time we fly north we return home empty handed. Let's just fly west for now." I already start turning the ship but Valkyrie stops me. 

"Wait! Did you see that?" She leans forward in her seat trying to get a better look at something. 

"I don't see anything. Let's just go."

"No. Right there behind that huge pile of trash. Something moved." She insists. 

"Ugh, fine. But if this turns out to be another dead end I'll get 80% of whatever the grandmaster pays for the next contender we bring him." I reply grumpily and steer the ship towards the garbage pile. 

We get closer but I still don't see anything and I'm about to snap at Val when something catches my attention. A person is running into a different direction trying to get away from us. 

"There. Let's get this bastard." I growl before speeding up. We get to a rough halt in front of him so he can't run any farther. He turns around and tries to flee into the other direction but at that point I already open the ship and and get outside. 

I grab the small taser thing and throw it at the guy. A second later he's on the ground shaking in pain. 

Val and I get closer to the now passed out stranger. 

"Let's get him on the ship and to the grandmaster before he wakes up again." She says and drags him to the ship. 

We're on our way back to the city when I ask her a question I've been wondering about for weeks. 

"Val... why did you even go back to this place after you escaped with Thor and Loki? You were finally free. Why did you return?"

She doesn't reply right away and instead stops to think about her answer. 

"Well... Asgard was destroyed. Thor wanted to bring his people to earth. That's no place for me. I don't really know where I belong. And on Sakaar... I have a purpose."

We sit in silence for a moment. Her explanation is not really comprehensible in my opinion but I decide not to ask further questions because Val doesn't seem like she wants to talk about that. 

"I understand if you want to stay here. This is your home right? But when Loki and I finally get off this planet, you're welcome to join us. And find a new purpose. Maybe become part of the guardians of the galaxy if you want." I grin at her and she chuckles slightly. 

"Let's get this guy to the grandmaster first."

We're back in the city in no time. I fly the ship into the grandmaster's building and land it there. A few of his guards greet us and take the guy to a chair. The same chair I sat in not that long ago. 

"Ah, scrapper 142 and 173. Tell me you have good news. Do not disappoint me." The grandmaster says when we walk into his room. Loki is standing next to him and winks at me. I smirk and feel a slight blush creeping up my cheeks so I quickly look away. 

The guards follow close behind together with the guy we found. 

"We brought you a new contender." Valkyrie says. 

"Wake him up." The grandmaster orders and shortly afterwards the guy opens his eyes. But he doesn't see us just yet. Right now he's seeing the same things I saw when I got here. Darkness, planets and the galaxy. All while a strange voice explains what this place is. 

It's always funny to see the people we bring here sitting in that chair not knowing they're surrounded by others. 

Then the guy finally realises he's actually in this room and looks around frantically, trying to get out of the chains keeping his wrists pinned down to the chair. 

This is the first time I really get a good look at him. His skin is really pale and his eyes appear to be violet which would actually be really pretty if they didn't have this insane look to them.

"3 million." I say and watch the grandmaster expectantly. 

"I'm not for sale you assholes! I'll kill every single one of you!" The guy screams but we ignore him. 

"He can let off some steam in the arena. Transfer the units." The grandmaster tells his assistant Topaz. 

"You're messing with the wrong guy!" The man yells but we still don't react. 

"Bring him to his cell." The grandmaster seems bored already. 

"Always a pleasure doing business with you." I tell him and he smiles. 

I glance at Loki and he looks at me softly before Val and I leave the room to continue looking for new contenders.


	10. Chapter 10

6 months later

Months have passed and escaping this planet still seems impossible. Nightmares haunt me almost every night and Loki is always the one to calm me down when I wake up crying. 

The guy Valkyrie and I brought in six months ago is called Theemin. We should've requested more than 3 million units for him because, as it turns out, he is a really good fighter. The grandmaster calls him his new champion because he has won every fight so far. 

The fights are brutal. Theemin appears to be a psychopath and I'm relieved I don't have to fight him. He even killed a few guards before they gave him a luxurious cell and started treating him like a saint. After that he accepted them and only killed the people in the arena. 

Today was a day off for me and Loki so we decided to use the opportunity to explore Sakaar some more. 

"Where do you want to go?" He asks me while we make our way to my spaceship. 

The grandmaster gave me my own ship so Val and I could split up and find him more contenders. I think he only did it because Theemin kills all of his fighters and he's afraid there'll come a time where no one is left to fight. 

"Maybe find a quiet spot somewhere? Get out of the city. Away from people." I get on the ship and ready for take off. 

"Correct me if I'm wrong but there is scarcely a place on Sakaar that is not covered in rubbish." Loki says, disgusted. 

"You're right. Scarcely." I say, copying his accent and grin at him. Loki raises an eyebrow but doesn't say anything. 

The flight takes almost two hours and Loki is definitely questioning my decision to keep looking instead of flying back. 

"Perhaps we should just turn around. I don't know what you intend to achieve by flying hours into the same direction but-"

"Don't you trust me?" I ask accusingly. 

"I do, but Sakaar is covered in garbage. There is not a single spot on this planet that's not-" He stops and his eyes widen when he sees what's slowly appearing in the distance ahead of us. 

"There is scarcely a place on Sakaar that is not covered in rubbish." I copy his accent again and he rolls his eyes. 

"Would you stop mocking me."

"Now where's the fun in that." I reply and start flying lower so we can land soon. 

In the middle of the dirty water is a small island that looks completely out of place. Strange trees and plants grow there, making it look almost tropical. 

We land on a small clearing that's hidden between the trees and Loki still looks astonished. 

We get off the ship and breathe in the fresh air. Although the island is still surrounded by trash and dirty water the air here is completely different and doesn't smell like rotten food and shit. 

"How did you find this place?" Loki whispers in awe. 

"Well, I spend every day flying around this damned planet. A few days ago I stumbled upon this island. I only saw it from my ship though. I wanted us to explore it together." I explain and smile at him.

He smiles back at me and keeps looking around. Loki is mesmerised by this place because he's obviously tired of seeing just garbage every single day, just like me. His eyes dart around, determined to look at every tree, every bush and every insect that's on this island. But mine are fixated on him. I'm just happy to see him smiling like that and I wish this moment would last forever. 

"Oh, I almost forgot!" I run back on the ship and search through the drawers. At one point I'm afraid I forgot to bring it but then my hands touch the bottle that's been thrown carelessly into the drawer and thus been buried under all sorts of other stuff. I smile to myself and then go back outside. 

"I got us something." I say holding up the bottle of whiskey so Loki can get a good glance at it. 

His eyes widen in surprise and then narrow in confusion.   
i  
"Where did you get that? I thought you banned all kinds of alcohol so Valkyrie won't drink so much anymore."

"I banned all kinds of alcohol for her. Of course I saved a few bottles for myself. Or for us to be exact." I smirk and throw the bottle at Loki. 

"Go on and drink. I'm afraid once I start I won't stop and then there'll be nothing left for you." I sink to the ground and lay down staring at the sky. The clouds drift swiftly through the air and I watch them go. 

Loki sits down next to me and takes a quick sip of whiskey. Suddenly his eyes widen in surprise and he stares at me. 

"What?", I ask confused by his reaction. "Does it taste bad?" I sit up and nibble on my lip, worried. All I wanted was to surprise him with some good whiskey and now it seems that didn't work out. 

"Not at all. It's... perhaps the best whiskey I have ever tried in my life." He still seems perplexed and I furrow my eyes in confusion. Loki offers me the bottle and I take it hesitantly, not knowing what to expect. 

Slowly I take a sip. The liquid fills my mouth and Loki's right. It is really good. It's sweet. But not too sweet. It has a hint of honey and tastes somewhat smokey. Yet it's not comparable with any other whiskey I've ever had. 

"That's amazing! Why does it taste this good?", I ask and look at Loki but before he can answer I start laughing and let myself fall back on the ground. He catches the bottle before I drop it and raises his eyebrows at me. 

My stomach already hurts because I'm laughing so hard but I can't seem to stop. Maybe it's the alcohol but I only took one sip and I'm not getting drunk that easily. No. It's the happiness flowing through my body. Something I haven't felt in a very long time. 

"Y/n? Are you ok?" Loki asks, worried. 

"Of course, idiot!" I giggle and push his arm playfully. "I haven't felt this good since I left earth! I bet it tastes this good cause it's millions of years old!"

When he doesn't say anything and just keeps looking at me like I'm going crazy I pull him down next to me so he's laying on his back as well facing the sky. 

"Loosen up a bit, grumpy." I sigh and point at the clouds. "That one looks like a rabbit... well maybe it looks like Rocket." I smile thinking about the little raccoon who always teases me. Then my thoughts drift off to the others. Drax. Mantis. Groot. Gamora... and dad. 

"What's wrong?" Loki props himself up so he's looking slightly down at me, analysing my face. 

I'm about to say 'Nothing. I'm fine' but then I see the spider crawling through the grass next to me and I'm reminded of Peter. Of him being stranded in space waiting for his death. Alone. 

My chest tightens and my breathing becomes rapid before I suddenly feel like I'm suffocating. Loki notices and says something but I don't hear him. I can only see his lips moving which makes me panic even more. 

He touches my arm slightly and I jump up. I still can't hear him. There's only the everlasting ringing in my ear that makes me feel like I'm under water. 

Loki pulls me into a hug and we sink to the ground. I press the side of my head against his chest and stare into the wood like a deer staring into headlights. 

I don't know how long we've been sitting like that. The first thing that indicates I'm calming down is the sound of Loki's heartbeat. Then I start hearing the humming of insects and my breathing slows down again. 

I pull away from the hug and look at the ground. 

"What the fuck was that?" I whisper, shocked and confused by my own behaviour. 

"It appears you were having an anxiety attack..." Loki answers softly and I look at him in disbelief before I start laughing. 

"Yeah, right. I'm not a pussy." I chuckle and shake my head slightly. 

"Having an anxiety attack doesn't mean you're weak. It's completely natural." He says and I can't help but feel like I offended him. 

"That's not what I meant. It's just... I'm not the sort of person to lose control like that. It's probably the whiskey..." I try to convince him. Or maybe I'm trying to convince myself. 

"You only took one sip. I do not think it's the alcohol." Loki cannot be tricked. It's stupid I even thought for a second that I could lie to him. 

"Alright. I was thinking about my family... and... Peter..." My voice gets very quiet at the end of the sentence. I don't know why but I think he doesn't want to talk about my boyfriend. Or well... ex-boyfriend to be exact. 

Loki doesn't say anything which just proves he has no interest in talking about Peter. 

We sit in silence for a while and I grab the bottle to drink some more. I'm ready to be lectured about drinking again but Loki just stares off into the woods. 

The alcohol dazes my senses but I don't stop drinking. Valkyrie's drinking problem is starting to make sense and I feel bad for taking away her only way to escape her own mind. When I get back to the city I will apologise and give her the bottles I didn't throw away because I wanted to keep them for me and Loki. 

"You still love him, don't you?" The sudden sound of Loki's voice makes me jump slightly. Then I'm confused by his question. 

"What?" I furrow my eyebrows. 

"Peter. You never stopped loving him, right? That night of the party... you came to me. And I thought we really had a chance. But you loved Peter. You came to me to be distracted from the pain you felt because you had to leave him." Loki is still not looking at my and I'm shocked by his words. I don't know what to respond. 

"That's just bullshit." I say when I finally find my voice again. This makes Loki look at me, a glimpse of hope in his eyes. 

He searches my face for a hint of a lie but to my own surprise I'm actually telling the truth. 

"Loki... Peter is very special to me... but I'm not in love with him anymore. I had a lot of time to think and I realised... I stopped loving him a long time ago."

Loki's eyes keep staring into mine and although this makes me really uncomfortable I don't dare to look away. Neither of us says a word for what seems like hours and I'm afraid I have to break the awkward silence until Loki finally finds his voice again. 

"When?" It's just one word. A simple question. And yet I'm not sure if I want to answer it. It'll change everything between us and I don't know how long we'll still be stuck on this planet. 

Fuck this. I'm not a coward. What's the worst that could happen?

"When we kissed. The night I left earth. That's when I knew I didn't love Peter anymore. That's when I knew I didn't want to be with him anymore. I knew I wanted to be with you." My voice trails off at the end but I'm glad I finally got this off my chest. 

For a second I think Loki doesn't feel the same because he doesn't say anything and just stares at me dumbfounded. This was a stupid idea. How did I get myself into this situation? Why did I decide to tell him the truth?

I'm about to apologise when Loki grabs my face without warning and presses his lips on mine. At first I'm startled but then I return the kiss. 

It's soft and passionate but at the same time it contains all the desperation and urgency piled up in both of us since the last time we kissed. 

His hand rests on my neck while his thumb grazes my cheek, sending shivers down my spine. Loki's lips are so soft I don't think there'll come a time when I don't want to feel them on mine. 

We probably wouldn't have stopped for a long time if it wasn't for someone clearing their throat. We break apart, gasping for air, and I shoot Valkyrie an annoyed look. 

"Don't tell me you've waisted my booze on this."


	11. Chapter 11

"Val, what are you doing here?!" I ask her, still out of breath. 

"This is my island. What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean? I found it a few days ago. You never told me about it. You told me the whole planet is covered in trash."

"Yeah, well, I didn't tell you about it because it's where I keep my secret stash of booze. And I guess you found it." She points at the bottle of whiskey that's laying on the ground beside me and Loki. 

"That's not from your secret stash. Why do you even have a secret stash? I thought we agreed that you would stop drinking?"

"Because I knew one day someone like you would come and take all my booze away. And I didn't agree to anything." Valkyrie crosses her arms and stares down at me. 

"I suppose we should leave now." Loki says and gets up before offering me a hand. I hesitantly take it and brush the dirt off my clothes. 

"Just stay. I'll get my booze and then I'm gone." Valkyrie sighs and goes over to a big tree. She presses some kind of hidden buttons and the tree opens, revealing bottles of alcohol inside of it. 

"No, we should go. We've been here a while and it'll take some time to get back to the city." I pick up the bottle, which is still pretty much full, and make my way back to the ship. 

"Sorry I ruined the mood!" Valkyrie yells from the entrance of her ship, carrying at least six bottles. 

I roll my eyes and wait for Loki to get on the ship. 

The long flight back is really awkward. Neither Loki nor I talk about what happened on the island. We mostly sit in silence and I'm relieved I had 'Awesome Mix Vol. 3' on me when I crashed on this planet because the music makes the whole situation a bit less uncomfortable. 

When we reach the city it's already getting dark and we're both pretty tired so we immediately go to bed. I don't know why there's this weird tension between us but I'm definitely not gonna be the one to address it. 

We both get under the covers and lay there without saying anything. After a few seconds I break the silence with a short and quiet "Goodnight". Loki murmurs back something incomprehensible which I figure is something along the lines of 'Goodnight' too.

Apparently there's nothing he wants to talk about and neither do I so I turn away from him before drifting off into a dreamless sleep. 

When I wake up the next morning he is already gone. The grandmaster only gave us one day off and today we both have to get back to work. I'm kinda glad that he's not here because I don't know how to act around him. I do know how I feel about him but what does that mean? Was yesterday just a one time thing? Maybe he doesn't feel the same about me and is unsure how to tell me.

I get ready and meet up with Valkyrie to talk about which area we're going to cover today. She's already waiting for me in front of our ships.

"You're late. Someone kept you up all night?", she asks, grinning impudently.

I roll my eyes at her. "Shut up, asshole."

"Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed today. Wanna tell me what happened?"

"Absolutely nothing happened."

Valkyrie raises an eyebrow before her expression shifts from confused to intelligible.

"I think I get it. After I stepped on your little moment on the island you two couldn't keep the spark alive and now it's weird between you."

I don't answer. She's totally right and that makes me worry. Is the spark between me and Loki really dead? 

"Am I right?", she asks after I still don't say anything.

"Yes", I sigh in defeat. "We barely talked on the way back. I don't know why but there's this uncomfortable tension between me and Loki now and I have no idea how to solve this."

"I do." Valkyrie grins and I get a weird feeling.

"What do you mean?"

"I think this so called uncomfortable tension", she forms quotation marks with her fingers, "is actually just sexual tension."

I almost choke on my own spit at her words. "What?!"

"You two need to bone."

Neither of us says another word while I'm staring at her like a crazy person. Shock is written all over my face and because I'm obviously not going to respond to that anytime soon Valkyrie starts getting on her ship before turning around one more time.

"By the way, I'm heading north-west so you should probably head south-east." She closes the ship behind her and takes off, leaving me there completely dumbfounded.

I've been standing there for at least two more minutes, just letting her words sink in, before I finally snap back to reality and get on my own ship. This is not going to throw me off my game. She simply said that so I'd pay less attention at work today. That way she'll bring the grandmaster more contenders than me and remain his favorite. Yeah. I know exactly what she's trying to achieve. But that's not going to work because it's so easy to look through her and her stupid plan. I will find every person that's in the area I need to cover today and I will bring them to the grandmaster, earn his trust and get off this god damn planet.

Although I'm determined to find new contenders today I eventually have to head home empty handed after hours of flying around. Maybe Valkyrie's words did throw me off my game. Instead of giving me this useless advice she shoul've told me what to actually do about Loki. I know he's already going to be home when I get there and I still have no idea how to behave. Should I just act as if nothing happened? Because I'm sure as hell not going to be the first one to address the elephant in the room. 

I'm a coward when it comes to emotions. Actually that's a lie. All this stuff was very easy with Peter. I wasn't afraid to talk about my feelings with him. Why does this scare me so much when it comes to Loki?

Loki is the only person I have left. Kissing him was a stupid idea and I knew it would ruin things between us. Why am I so fucking stupid? At least now I have a chance to pretend yesterday didn't happen. I'm gonna take it.

I walk back to our apartment and hesitate a second before entering. Loki is sitting on the couch reading a book and doesn't look up when I walk in.

"Hey!", I say, trying to sound happy.

"Hey." His response isn't quite as cheerful as I'd hoped but I ignore this.

"How was your day?"

"Same as always. Yours?"

"Pretty uneventful. I couldn't find any new contenders for the grandmaster so that kinda sucks. We need to win his trust if we want to get off this planet. Did you make any progress on that? Is he starting to trust you again?", I ask hopefully. I could really need some good news today.

Loki finally looks up from his book and right into my eyes. "I don't think he will ever trust me again. There is absolutely no way we're going to get off this planet."

I sink onto a chair. If this is true it means I really will never see my family ever again. Until now I still had faith. I thought if I were patient enough Loki would eventually gain the grandmasters trust again and we could escape. But now I feel absolutely hopeless. Loki is always the one who has a plan. All the stories Thor told me... Loki was always the one to find a loophole. A way out. And now he's telling me there is not a chance for us to get off this planet.

Loki's eyes are fixated on the book again. He seems so unbothered by this.

"I'm gonna go to bed. Goodnight, Loki." 

"Goodnight", he mumbles, eyes still glued on the book.

After brushing my teeth and changing into some more comfortable clothes for the night I finally crawl into bed, exhausted from today. More emotionally exhausted than physically to be honest. I think about what Valkyrie said to me. Is it true? Is it really sexual tension? I doubt it. Loki basically ignored me since yesterday. Val must've been making a joke. She's probably still mad at me for taking away her booze and wants to get back at me now.

Slowly my thoughts become sloppier and sloppier until I finally fall asleep with the almost inaudible sound of Loki turning the pages of his book being one of the last things I actively notice today.


	12. Chapter 12

It's been one week since Loki and I kissed. And thus one week since things between us became weird. Valkyrie calls it sexual tension. I think that's bullshit. The way Loki acts towards me now does not indicate that he's sexually attracted to me at all. Yes, we kissed. And yes, he was the one who kissed me. But that just happened in the heat of the moment. It seems as if he regrets it. And I don't blame him. 

This past week Loki and I barely talked. If we did, it was just small talk. When we slept we were both facing away from each other. I hate how things are between us now. I shouldn't have told him about my feelings. Everything would be perfectly fine if I had just kept my stupid mouth shut.

I'm waiting for Valkyrie in front of my ship. Hers is damaged and we have to share my ship for the next couple of days. Usually I like hanging out with her but after the things she said I don't know if I want to talk to her right now. Why do things have to be weird between me and her as well? Isn't it enough that it's awkward between me and Loki?

"Hey, Y/n! Ready to catch some new contenders?" Valkyrie walks past me and onto the spaceship, acting as if nothing happened. Maybe things don't have to be weird between us after all.

I follow her onto the ship, sit down and start the engines.

"What direction?", I ask, pressing button after button until we're ready for take off.

"South", she says and so that's where we're heading.

We're flying almost two hours, talking about all kinds of things. Except about Loki and me. Apparently she got the hint and leaves the topic alone.

"You escaped this planet once, right? How did you do it?", I ask.

"Well, first of all I wasn't alone. Thor, Loki and Bruce helped a lot. And of course Korg and his friends that started a revolution. Because of them the grandmaster was distracted. Loki was the reason we had access to a ship that wouldn't be torn to pieces when flying through the Devil's Anus. Thor helped me fight off the ships that followed us. And Bruce, well, he was flying the ship while we were fighting so I guess that counts as help, right?"

"So if we do everything exactly the same we could escape?"

"The grandmaster hardly trusts anyone anymore. He also doubled the security forces which means there's no chance to get to one of his ships and through the Devil's Anus."

"But what if we go through a different wormhole? We could simply use one of our ships right? And the grandmaster won't notice."

"I don't think you understand. Every wormhole is a risk we're taking. We don't know where we'll get out. Worst thing that could happen is we take a wormhole and get out in the middle of nowhere. Eventually we would run out of gas, food and water and then die. I'm not going to take a risk like that and I'm pretty sure Loki won't either. We have to go through the Devil's Anus because it's the only one that I know will lead us somewhere safe."

I let that sink in for a second. She's right. It is a risk but is that a good enough reason to stay on this planet any longer than necessary?

"Are you sure there is no other wormhole we can take without risking everything? I mean you have to know at least one other wormhole that'll get us somewhere safe. You've spent thousand of years on this planet."

"Well...", she hesitates a moment, "we could try a wormhole just outside the city limits. I've heard rumors about it that indicate it's safe to use. People say it leads to somewhere near Xandar."

"Great! We'll tell Loki about it when we're back and leave this shithole tonight." Valkyrie doesn't look as optimistic about this plan.

"What?", I ask, a hint of annoyance in my voice.

"I'm not sure I want to leave this place. I did once and decided to come back because I have a good life here. I get paid really well for my work and Sakaar is actually a great place to live", she stops a moment when I look at her, unconvinced, "At least it is when you're not one of the contenders that have to fight until one of them is dead."

I snort, still not convinced, making her roll her eyes at me.

"You have to admit, it's pretty dope to be technically immortal." She raises an eyebrow at me, waiting for me to agree with her.

"Yeah, I'll give you that...", I sigh, "But just imagine how many endless possibilities you have out there! Sakaar might offer you a really long life but every day here is exactly the same. It's dull and boring. Out there you can go on adventures, meet new people, explore new places. I offered you this before but if you come with us you're welcome to join the Guardians of the Galaxy. You'd be a great asset to the team. And we get paid a lot as well." I grin and she shoots me a quick smile back.

"Alright, I'll think about it. But there's no rush. We have more than enough time on this planet. Even if we leave in a few years only a few minutes will have passed out there. So please don't make me decide right now."

"I'm sorry but I really have to get off this planet and back to my family. I'm going insane here. And they probably need my help. The only reason I landed here was because we were getting attacked and for all I know the fight is still going on. I can't wait a few years. Every minute that passes out there could mean the death of my family."

"Okay. But if you have to get there so soon we really shouldn't be using a random wormhole. Right now we have time enough but once we're off this planet every second counts. So here's a preposition for you. I'll come with you but only if we take the time to gather information about every single wormhole. We need to find the one closest to you're family or we might not make it in time."

"Agreed. The easiest way would be to just use the wormhole that I fell through when I landed here. Only problem is I don't remember where that was. Not even a rough direction."

"Don't worry we'll find it. But for now maybe we should land." Valkyrie nods in direction of the island in front of us.

"I didn't even notice we were heading toward the island. Why do you want us to land there? We should keep looking for people or the grandmaster is going to be pissed."

"Calm down, Wonderhands. The grandmaster and I get along pretty well, he won't be angry. Besides I think you could really use a drink after this week." She winks at me and I begin to land the ship.

She opens the door and gets of the ship before it's even fully landed. When I finally follow her outside she's already sitting on the gras with two large bottles of alcohol in her lap that she got out of the tree she's hiding her emergency stash in. I sit down next to her and she throws one of them to me before starting to drink out of the other.

In less than a minute she drank over half of her bottle. She's about to continue drinking when she realizes I haven't even started mine yet.

"What are you doing? I'm already drinking as slow as I can. Go on and drink. You need it", she says angrily, making me chuckle.

"You seriously call that slow?"

"Hey! I'm Asgardian. I don't get drunk as easily as you. And I had a lot of practice."

I roll my eyes playfully before taking a sip from my bottle. It's not like the whiskey me and Loki drank but it's amazing in its own way. I close my eyes and enjoy the feeling of the alcohol flooding through me, forgetting about all my problems.

"Told you", Valkyrie say when she sees that I'm enjoying it, "It might not be the right way but it sure as hell helps to forget about all your troubles."

About half an hour later I've almost finished my bottle while Valkyrie has already opened her fifth. But somehow I'm completely drunk while she's only a little tipsy.

"Why did you say that shit about me and Loki having to bone?", I ask her and drink a little bit more.

"Because it's true. The sexual tension between you two is unbearable."

"There's absolutely no sexual tension. All he does is ignore me ever since you caught us making out." I giggle at the memory but then I get serious again. Well, as serious as one can be while drunk. "I mean it. He's just not into me. I told him all about how I feel but I think it's too late. I was selfish and wanted both Peter and Loki. Now I can't have either of them because Peter is probably dead and Loki doesn't feel the same about me."

"Oh, shut up! He's so into you, a blind person could see it!"

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. 

"You're lying. Why the hell would he ignore me if he's so into me?"

"That's just stupid male logic. That's why I don't waste my time with men. But for some reason you're into that and that's why you have to build up the courage to do something about this sexual tension."

I finish the bottle and get up, immediately falling back down because I'm too drunk to walk straight.

"What are you doing?" Valkyrie tries to help me get up and walk toward the ship.

"I wanna go back." 

"Alright, fine. But I fly the ship. You're in no condition for that. You'll just crash it."

We get on the ship and Valkyrie starts the engines. It doesn't take long until we're up in the air and on our way back to the city.

"You don't have to fly. I'll just use my powers to sober up real quick." I put my hands on my forehead, ready to get the alcohol out of my system, when Valkyrie slaps them away.

"Don't even think of using the easy way out. You're going to sober up the old fashioned way. It's part of the fun. Besides it would be a waste of booze if you just use your powers right now."

"Ugh, alright, fine. But I'll use my powers if I start to feel sick because I seriously hate throwing up there's no way I'm gonna go through that because you think it's part of the fun."

She smirks at me and I sigh in respond. The flight back seems twice as long. We don't really talk. I just keep staring out of the window and sometimes Valkyrie tries to start a conversation but I'm not really in the mood to talk so I just listen to her giving me advice about Loki. Again and again she tells me that I have to do something about the sexual tension but I don't respond which seems to frustrate her.

I'm still pretty drunk when we land but at least I'm able to walk straight again. Kind of. 

"Do you want me to walk you to your apartment?", she asks.

"No, I'm fine."

"Alright. But you really have to do something about this sexual tension between you two. It's frustrating for you, for him and especially frustrating for me. It's just annoying and exhausting to be in the same room as you two!"

"Oh my god! Would you stop?!", I shout and get up before grabbing the bottle Valkyrie took with her for the flight which is almost empty now.

I finish it while walking down the ramp of the spaceship and toward the exit of the garage.

"Hey! Where are you going?", Valkyrie yells after me. 

I throw the now empty bottle against a wall and it shatters into little pieces.

"To do something about it!"


	13. Chapter 13

I burst through the door to the apartment, startling Loki who apparently just took a shower. He's wearing nothing but a towel. His almost naked appearance throws me off for a second. 

Loki looks at me, eyebrows raised, while I'm standing here with my mouth open as if to say something but no words come out.

"Is everything okay? I didn't expect you to come home for another hour." His voice pulls me back to reality.

"I'm here to do something about this weird tension between us." Just now I realize how drunk I must sound.

"Did you drink alcohol?", he asks and I can tell he's becoming more and more confused.

"What if I did?" I raise my chin challengingly, not noticing how ridiculous I look.

"I thought you were working. What is going on, Y/n?"

I'm still pretty drunk but my thoughts start to become clearer and a wave of anxiety rushes over me. What am I doing?

"Y/n?" Loki is suddenly standing right in front of me, making me jump because I didn't notice him walking toward me.

I take a deep breath, letting drunk me take over again. Without thinking I start taking my clothes off. Firstly, I kick my boots away and take my socks off. Then my jacket, which I throw across the room, then my shirt, leaving me in just my pants and bra.

"Y/n, what are you doing?", Loki asks, clearly shocked by my behavior.

"I don't even know", I mumble before throwing my arms around his neck and kissing him. We stumble back until we fall onto the bed.

Although he hesitates a second he returns the kiss eventually. His cold hands are just resting on my hips which is beginning to annoy me. Doesn't he know how much I want him to just touch me?

Because he's too much of a gentleman, or maybe because he's not sure if I'm okay with it, I reach behind my back to take of my bra. But his hands grab mine to stop me.

"Don't. You're drunk, Y/n. You're not thinking straight." He says, staring intensely into my eyes.

I sigh, pulling away from him.

"Loki... Don't you remember what I told you that night in your cell? You said the same thing to me and I told you-"

"That I'm the god of mischief, I know. But I care about you and I don't want to take advantage of you being drunk."

I roll my eyes. "I could use my powers to sober up and then we continue. But I'm a lot braver when I'm drunk and I really need some courage right now."

He still doesn't seem convinced.

"Loki, I'm not too drunk. I can think straight and I know that I want this-", I stop a second before continuing, "That I want you."

He still doesn't respond and I wish I had never even started this. Damn Valkyrie and her stupid advice. But there's no going back now.

"It really doesn't matter if I'm drunk or sober. I'm sure about this and the only reason I'm even able to tell you that is because of the alcohol. So, I don't know if you really think that sober me wouldn't want this or if you're just not interested in me but I-" I'm cut off by his lips on mine and can't help but smile through the kiss.

"Why would you even think I'm not interested in you?", Loki asks between kisses.

"I'm insecure and paranoid", I mumble.

Finally, his hands travel up my back until they've found the clasp of my bra. A second later cold air hits my breasts followed by Loki's cold hands and eventually his lips.

I can't help but let a soft moan slip out. I didn't even notice how touch starved I have been these past few months. Peter only did it once or twice after we left earth. I always used my family as an excuse. I always told him we couldn't do it because someone might hear us. In reality I didn't want to have sex with him because of Loki. Because I felt guilty about the kiss and about constantly thinking about him whenever Peter and I made out. Because of that it must've been almost a year now since the last time I had sex.

Our kisses become sloppier. As much as I enjoy foreplay, I just can't stand waiting any longer. And Loki seems to feel the same. Who knows when the last time was that he had sex.

He starts pulling at my pants, signaling he wants them off. I quickly obey his wish and take them off. Instead of waiting for him to take off my panties I just do that right now. 

I'm completely naked now and so I decide to finally rip the towel off of him. We roll over so he's on top of me. I wait for him to enter but he hesitates.

"Are you really sure you want this?", he asks, making me groan.

"Are you really sure you want to ruin the moment?", I ask and he grins slightly.

"I'm just making sure...", he mumbles before pushing inside with a thrust. I let out a loud moan and grab his shoulders a little tighter.

"Are you okay or should I-"

"Just move, Loki!", I yell. He finally shuts up and starts to move. 

It doesn't take long until the familiar feeling in my stomach pops up. It's really hard for me to hold back my orgasm because it's been so long but I somehow manage to hold it for a few more seconds.

But then I can't take it any longer and finally let myself go. My walls clench around him and I can feel him twitching inside of me. He reaches his high shortly after I do. After a few more thrusts he stops and pulls out, collapsing onto the bed next to me. We're both covered in sweat now.

I start laughing, earning a confused look from Loki.

"What?", he asks.

"Nothing. It's just... I guess you have to take another shower now."

"So do you."

"We should probably save water and share a shower."

"Agreed."


	14. Chapter 14

8 weeks later

"So... how are things with you and Loki?", Valkyrie asks and wiggles her eyebrows to which I respond with an eye roll. Still, I can't help but grin.

"Things are great. And I mean really great." I blush a little but Val wants more details.

"Does that mean you two are officially dating now?"

"I guess. We haven't really talked about it yet but I suppose we are."

"How's the sex?"

"Val!", I squeak, surprised by her bluntness.

"Don't be a prude, Y/n! Come on! Just tell me!", she begs. "I promise I won't tell all my friends about it. You know, 'cause I definitely have more friends than just you and Loki." She grins at me, making me smile as well.

"It's good", I say in a very quiet voice.

"Good? That's all I get?"

"Fine. It's amazing, okay? Now would you please leave it alone?"

"I don't think so. Is it better than sex with your previous boyfriend?"

"I'm not going to answer that!"

"So it's worse?"

"No, it's not. Can we please concentrate on the map now?" On the table in front of us lies a holographic map of Sakaar and all it's wormholes. We're supposed to fill it with the information we have about each wormhole but somehow we got off topic...

"Ugh, fine. I get it. The sex is so bad that you don't want to talk about it."

I narrow my eyes at her. "I know exactly what you're trying to do."

"And what's that?", she says innocently.

"You're trying to get me to defend the sex so we can talk about it some more and so you'll get more details. But that's not gonna work. Let's concentrate, please."

"I know how you feel. Talking about bad sex can be embarrassing."

"It's not bad! It's fucking amazing and, yes, it is better than sex with Peter! In fact, it's so good that I could do it all day! I even wanna do it right now!"

"What do you want to do right now?" I jump at Loki's sudden appearance.

"Have s-", Valkyrie starts but I quickly interrupt her.

"Have someone to fill out this map for us!"

Loki raises his eyebrow but doesn't question me.

"How much do you have?", he asks, finally changing the topic.

"Not much. We've found a few wormholes that'll get us there pretty quickly but not fast enough to save my family. Those people who attacked us were Kree. They don't come to play", I say, pointing at the wormholes on the map that we've circled in red.

"I'm sure we'll find a better one if we just keep looking. Even if it takes us months or even years to find it, it'll still be faster than taking one of the wormholes we have right now", Valkyrie says and takes a sip from her bottle. I've decided to give her back the alcohol I took from her because I know exactly how she must feel. Plus it's fun to have a drinking buddy.

"I really don't want to stay here much longer. And I definitely don't wanna spend a few more years on this stupid planet. But it's the best shot at saving them and I'm not willing to take any risks." I sigh.

Loki wraps an arm around me and pulls me closer. He's studying the map, his expression concentrated.

"I'll do my best to get my hands on some information. But I have to be careful. If the grandmaster finds out about our plan..."

"...we're screwed", I finish his sentence.

°°°

Months pass and we've had no luck in fining a suitable wormhole. We've found one that's pretty close but it would still take us a week to get from there to my family. And that would most certainly mean that they would be dead when we get there.

"I got us some popcorn", Loki holds the bag in front of my face, interrupting my thought. 

"Thanks." I take a handful and Loki sits down next to me. We've decided to start attending the fights. It's a nice distraction.

"I'm really happy to see you two here. After all these months you have finally decided to become a part of this", the grandmaster says and sits down beside us.

"These are the best seats in the arena so be grateful, people!" He chuckles and focuses on the fight in the arena that, to my surprise, has already started.

"I'd prefer other seats...", I mumble quietly. The grandmaster didn't hear me but Loki looks at me and sighs.

"This is going to be an exciting fight. Who do you think will win?", the grandmaster asks, obviously trying to make smalltalk.

"Theemin always wins", I tell him grumpily before turning to Loki, "Why do we even bother coming here? It's a waste of time."

Loki's about to say something but the grandmaster is faster than him. "Hey! That's our beloved champion down there. I haven't seen anyone as incredible as him since the Hulk. And maybe Theemin would even be able to beat him."

"I doubt that. But still, those are not fair fights. Theemin has amazing reflexes, is incredible strong and really smart. Of course no one can beat him. Except if they had some kind of magic powers or something." The grandmaster doesn't even listen anymore. He's watching Theemin beat up that poor guy in the arena who didn't stand a chance.

The crowd cheers when Theemin rips the guy in half. His head flies across the arena and lands somewhere inside the crowd. The grandmaster laughs at that and applauds excitedly. He should be the one in the arena. I bet he wouldn't be laughing then.

"Can we go now?" I'm already on my feet waiting for Loki to get up as well.

"You're leaving so soon? Don't you want to stay for the after party?", the grandmaster asks but I'm already walking toward the exit.

"Maybe next time!", I yell and leave the room. Loki follows shortly after. 

"What's wrong? I thought you wanted to go out more and watch the fights from now on."

"I do. But maybe this isn't for me. You should go by yourself next time. To bond with the grandmaster and get us out of here."

"No. I want you there with me. Besides... no more bonding with the grandmaster. I'm with you now."

I stare at him, eyebrows raised. "What? I- what exactly do you think 'bonding' means?"

Loki's facial expression changes abruptly from caring to embarrassed.

"I- um... building a friendship. What else would it mean?", he chuckles nervously and I look at him in disgust.

"I'm just gonna pretend we never had this conversation."

"That might be a wise choice."


	15. Chapter 15

It's been three years since I got to Sakaar. We've been trying to find the perfect wormhole all this time but we still haven't found it yet. It's not like we haven't been trying hard enough or anything. But I have to admit that we've got kind of distracted over time. Other things started to be more important to us. I guess when time doesn't really matter you don't stress about things like that too much.

I'm sitting at my desk, thinking about the time difference. Valkyrie told me time on Sakaar goes 60,480 times faster than in the normal world. So I decide to calculate the exact time that must've passed since I got here. And I come to a shocking realization.

"Loki!" I raise my voice slightly to get his attention because he's preoccupied with reading. His head snaps up. "What is it?", he asks.

"We've been here for around three years now."

"And?" Loki doesn't seem to understand.

"I just did the math. And if my math is correct, which it usually is, three years on Sakaar are almost thirty minutes out there."

He closes his book and stares at me. "What do you suggest we do?"

"We have to get off this planet. And we have to do it soon. We can't waste time we don't have." I get up and massage my temples, trying desperately to come up with a way to reach my family in time.

"I promise we'll find a better wormhole than the one west of the city. The one where we would get out five hours away from your family."

"Do you mean wormhole D-45?" He nods in response. "I know there's a much better wormhole somewhere out there but who knows how long it will take us to find it. I think we should take our chances and go through D-45."

Loki does not seem convinced. And he certainly isn't happy about my decision.

"Y/n, we can't go through D-45. We won't reach your family in time. We have to keep looking in order to save them."

I sigh. Maybe he's right. But who knows if we'll ever find a better wormhole.

"Let's compromise. We'll keep looking for two more months. If we haven't found a better wormhole by then, we go through D-45. Deal?"

"Fine. Deal."

°°°

A few hours later I'm on my ship together with Valkyrie, looking for stranded people. And potential information about some wormholes. I told her about leaving in two months and she agreed to come with us.

"And you're really sure about this? What if we found the perfect wormhole if-"

"Stop. I won't argue about this. I want to get off this planet and back to my family. It's been way too long already. I mean - god! - it's been little over three years. I wanted to get back to them immediately and now look at me... I was too distracted by Loki. I completely lost my focus and if we don't reach them in time that's all my-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence!", Valkyrie yells.

"But it would be my fault! If I had really focused on getting off this planet I would've already found this goddamn wormhole!"

"Do you know how many wormholes there are? There's nothing you could've done better. And getting information about each wormhole is a slow process. We've asked so many people which wormhole they came through and from where and most of them don't even remember. Finding the right wormhole is not as easy as it sounds." Valkyrie looks at me, a sympathetic expression plastered onto her face and I sigh in defeat. There's no point in arguing with her about this. I know for a fact that it would be my fault but I also know that Valkyrie would never admit that just to make me feel better.

We fly around for a few minutes, neither of us saying a word. The conversation kind of killed the good vibes.

"You know...", Valkyrie breaks the silence, "Caiera, a friend of mine, recently found some guy. It's a long shot but we can go to him after the fight tonight and ask where he came from. Caiera knows where the wormhole is. She's good at remembering stuff like that."

"Thanks. It's worth a try." I try to sound hopeful but Valkyrie's not convinced.

"Hey, you said there were maybe hundreds of Kree people attacking you, right?" I nod. "So maybe one of them had the same fate as you. And if this is another dead end there's still no reason to worry. You said Peter took the escape pod. I'm sure he got away. And the others know how to defend themselves. You said you're the Guardians of the Galaxy. There's a reason people gave you that name."

A smile creeps up my face. Her words manage to give me some hope. 

"And the Kree are no savages", she continues, "Yes, they attacked you. But I'm sure once they realized that you were outnumbered, they ceased fire and took your family prisoners. They are most likely fine and not even wounded."

"You're probably right." I grin at her and the fact that she managed to make me happy again puts a smile on her face.

"Of course I am. Does this mean we'll pay that guy a visit after the fight tonight?"

"Yep. What do we have to lose, right?"

°°°

Loki and I are trying to make our way through the giant crowd of people to our seats. He knows I hate watching the fight together with the grandmaster so we agreed to sit somewhere among the regular people once every month. Today is that day.

"Thank you for not making me sit with the grandmaster!", I yell at Loki, trying to be loud enough so my voice won't be drowned out by the babble of other people's voices.

"You don't have to thank me every time!", he yells back and we grin at each other.

When we finally reach our seats the grandmaster's giant projection is already welcoming everyone for being here. It's basically the same speech as always so I don't bother listening. Instead I turn to Loki.

"Valkyrie told me that a friend of hers found a guy recently. I know it's a long shot but I'll go talk to him after the fight. And maybe if the odds are in our favor we'll be off this planet in less than 24 hours." I smile at Loki but he doesn't look that happy.

"What?", I ask, a little bit annoyed.

"Nothing. It's just... I don't want you to get your hopes up. We have talked to a lot of people over the time we've been here and none of them turned out to be of actual use. Why should this guy be any different?"

"I know but... we have to try. I need to follow every lead we've got even if it means wasting my time with unhelpful people."

"I get it. But I also know how hopeful you always are about those talks. I hate when you get disappointed", he pauses and brushes a strand of hair out of my face, "I love you. Always remember that. Everything I do is because I love you."

"I love you too." I give him a soft smile before pressing my lips on his. The cheering of the crowd pulls us back to reality. Theemin is walking into the arena, clapping together two giant battle axes above his head in order to hype up the crowd even more.

Those axes have kind of become his signature features. He's able to throw them through the arena as if they weigh nothing. And he never seems to miss his target.

The crowd is still cheering and shooting some sort of fireworks. They do that every time Theemin fights and it's getting sort of annoying to be honest.

"How did you manage to get such good seats?" We have first row seats, right at the railing that divides the contenders and the viewers. But in my opinion the railing is pretty useless because people have climbed over it and into the arena before and once Theemin threw his axe into the crowd by accident, killing three people. At least he claims it was an accident.

"I bribed the grandmaster so he was willing to give us good seats. Who knows, maybe this is the last time we watch a fight." Loki kisses my cheek and I smile at him. These three years with him have pretty much been the best of my life. I feel guilty even thinking it because after all my family is in danger right now. But he makes me happy. He really does.

I snap out of my thoughts when the crowd starts cheering again. The other contender has stepped into the arena. I was so distracted that I didn't even hear his name so let's just call him Newbie. I can't make out his face since he's on the other side of the arena. The only thing I can tell is that he's really small and probably doesn't stand a chance agains Theemin.

"That poor guy", I turn to Loki, "He'll be dead in seconds." Loki seems paler than usual. He looks at the arena, almost like he's frightened. When he realizes that I'm staring at him he tries his best to act natural.

I'm confused but I direct my attention back to the fight. Theemins throws an axe at Newbie and I'm prepared for this to be the end of the fight but then he jumps away just in time, leaving Theemin with only one axe. Of course he's angry about that. Immediately he throws his second axe but again Newbie manages to jump out of the way.

Loki looks at me like every ten seconds that worried expression plastered onto his face. But I ignore him.

Theemin starts running toward him but Newbie doesn't move. Instead he fumbles around with something on his wrist but I can't make out what. Theemin has almost reached him and Newbie holds up his hand toward Theemin. Nothing happens though and Theemin punches him so hard that he flies against the wall. To my surprise Newbie gets up again. But instead of trying to fight he runs. Theemin is following him and although Newbie is very fast he catches up with him. Theemin shoves him from behind, sending him flying across the arena.

Newbie is only about twenty feet away from me. He's facing the ground and doesn't move. Theemin starts slowly making his way toward him to finish him off. 

I focus on Newbie again. Suddenly he rolls on his back so I finally get a good look at his face. I freeze. I know that face. 

Loki puts his hand on my arm and says something but I don't hear him. Theemin is still pretty far away but he's going to reach him soon. I stand up, not knowing what to do. Someone behind me is yelling something about me blocking the view and Loki tries to get me to sit back down. I look at him, at his eyes. He's scared. But I can't let that distract me.

Without thinking I dash forward. Loki tries to grab my arm to pull me back but I yank it free and leap over the railing. The fall is deeper than expected, my landing uncontrolled and sloppy. I twist my ankle but I ignore it and keep running. 

The crowd has noticed me and the previous silence get replaced by uneasy murmuring. Theemin has spotted me as well and starts to run. I'm not going to reach him in time. He'll still die and there's nothing I can do. But I continue to sprint as fast as possible. My ankle is already healed again so there's nothing slowing me down. Theemin is fast though.

It feels as if I'm running but not getting any farther. And then suddenly I've almost reached him. But so has Theemin. I slide across the gravelled ground until I'm on top of him so Theemin will hit me instead. I close my eyes and raise my right arm to somehow cover my face. I'm ready for the impact. But nothing happens. 

I carefully open my eyes. Theemin is right in front of us, trying to hit us. But he can't. We're trapped inside some kind of bright blue glowing bubble. And Theemin can't seem to get through it.

Then I feel him stir underneath me. Right. I'm not alone in this bubble. His eyes open a just a little because his face is bloody and swollen.

"Y/n?" His voice is shaking and weak.

"Yes. It's me, Peter."


	16. Chapter 16

"You're alive!" Peter pulls me into a tight hug. He's shaking. He's scared. 

"Yes, I'm alive. And so are you. But not for long if we don't get the fuck out of here!" Theemin is hammering his fists onto the bubble and it takes all my strength not to let it burst.

"Can you run?", I ask him and he nods. I can tell he's uncertain about it but there's no time. "Alright. When I say 'Run', we run. Ready?" He nods again and we get into position to run to the edge of the arena. To Loki.

Out of the corner of my eye I can see guards entering the arena and running towards us. Theemin will probably take care of them though.

"Run!", I yell and the bubble bursts. Theemin's fists hit the spot where we were laying a split second ago. We sprint as fast as we can but it feels more like I'm dragging Peter with me instead of him running on his own. Theemin is right behind us but we had a slight head start since he didn't expect us to run in the first place.

Loki is standing at the railing, waiting impatiently. We're almost there and I prepare myself to lift Peter up since he's too weak to climb the railing himself. Theemin is getting closer every second. The railing is only a few feet away now.

"Loki!", I yell before I lift Peter up and basically throw him at Loki. I don't even know how I did that. Of course I'm pretty strong but not that strong. It's probably the adrenaline that's pumping through my blood.  
Loki catches him and pulls him over the railing before getting ready to help me. I jump and pull myself up trying to reach Loki's hand but suddenly Theemin grabs my leg and pulls me back. He throws me down and the air gets pressed out of my lungs by the impact. I close my eyes before his fist hits my face but nothing happens. I open them again only to see his severed hand falling on top of me. Loki is standing next to Theemin, dagger in hand. Theemin looks at his handless wrist in shock and I push his hand off me. He has no time to attack Loki because his dagger already decapitated him. 

I get up and start pulling myself over the railing a second time. This time no one pulls me back, the guards are still too far away. I fall to the ground on the other side, exhausted. Then I remember Peter and look around frantically. He's gone!

Loki made it over the railing as well and pulls me to my feet before dragging me toward the exit. The other people are all shocked and confused. No one knows what their supposed to do so they just sit there and stare at us. 

"What are you doing! Stop them!" The grandmasters voice echoes through the arena und suddenly people start running after us. We sprint out of the building and around a corner where we almost crash into Valkyrie and Peter.

"Don't move", Loki commands calmly and we all stop moving without question. Now people start running towards us and I'm certain that we're doomed but for some reason they just run past us. After the crowd of people turned around a corner Loki moves again and I let out a deep breath.

"What just happened?!", Peter asks, freaking out. I turn to Loki. "How did you do that?"

"You're not the only one with tricks up their sleeve." He smirks and I role my eyes at him but I can't stop myself from grinning.

"Stop flirting. We need to get out of here. Now", Valkyrie snaps and goes ahead. Loki and I look at each other and burst out laughing before following her. Behind me I hear Peter's quiet 'flirting?' but I pretend as if I didn't hear him.

Valkyrie Leads us through narrow alleys and secret shortcuts I had no clue existed. Here and there we walk past a homeless person begging for units or food or basically anything we were willing to offer. Valkyrie ignored them and so did we but I can't help but notice the sad look on Peter's face. He's the kind of guy who wants to help where he can.

Back when we were on Terra, whenever Peter and I would visit the city he'd give any money he had to homeless people. And he didn't have a lot of money himself. Of course Tony wouldn't let him and May starve but they just wouldn't accept any kind of help from him. Except of course when it came to Peter's spidey-suit.   
Peter always tried to get me to sympathize with them. But I've seen people who were off way worse and so I didn't really care about them. But Peter wouldn't stop explaining to me why I should feel sorry for them and in the end it kinda worked.   
But that was a very long time ago and I've grown numb again.

Valkyrie leads us into a small building. My eyes need a second to adjust to the bad lighting. Slowly but surely I can make out some basic but shabby furniture. It's not much. Just a table with two chairs, a bed and a closet. 

"Where are we?" I don't know why but I whisper the question. Something about this place makes me feel like I shouldn't talk too loud.

"Follow me", Valkyrie says. She's not exactly whispering but I was right about not talking loudly.

She opens the closet doors and pushes aside the clothes before stepping inside. Loki and I exchange a confused look but we step closer. 

"What are you doing? Come 0n!", she urges and vanishes inside the closet. We follow her reluctantly and step inside. There's a narrow staircase leading down. It's dark.

"Are you kidding? Move." Valkyrie has grown impatient. I'm the first to step down into the darkness. I look over my shoulder. She's putting a few wooden planks in front of the closet to hide the entrance. Then it grows completely dark and I can't see anything.

I feel Loki's hand searching for mine and have to smile knowing he's afraid of the dark. He won't admit it but I've spent enough time with him to know it's true. But then Valkyrie turns on a light on her wristband and it blinds everyone for a second. After noticing that none of us moves she sighs and pushes her way to the front before going down the stairs.

We enter a room that definitely doesn't fit the shabby room upstairs. The furniture in this room is high quality and there's a lot of technology. In the middle of the room stands a big table with an electronic map of the planet on it.

Valkyrie touches the map and a 3D model of it pops up. It reminds me of Tony's tech. She presses a few things before looking up. She finally notices how surprised we all are.

"After I helped Thor and Loki escape this planet I decided to come back because I didn't know what else to do with my life. But when I came back I new I couldn't live the way I did before. The grandmaster didn't trust me anymore and he probably never will again. So I decided to get an undercover place for when I need to get out again. So I moved everything important I owned into this room. And I was right. It's time for me to get off this planet again and this place definitely was a good idea." She looks at us expecting an answer.

"Very impressive. But how do you suggest we get off the planet?", Loki asks. Valkyrie turns around and pulls a bottle of alcohol out of some cabinet. She opens it and takes a sip before pointing at Peter. His eyes are wide and he seems confused.

"How... how should I get you off this planet?" He looks at me like a lost puppy.

"Show us the wormhole you came through when you landed on this planet." She motions at the map and Peter steps closer, unsure of what to do. He looks back at me and I give him a reassuring nod.

"Uhh...", he Zooms into the map, swipes around, zooms out again before zooming in once more. "It should be this one." Peter points at a wormhole pretty far north of the city.

"You sure?", I ask him.

"Yes. See?", he zooms further into the map, "There's the spaceship. The escape pod I was in after we got attacked. It's right there. But it's totally broken. Sorry about that..."

I wrap my arms around him and sigh in relief. "Don't worry about the escape pod. You just saved my family." I pull away and give him a thankful smile. 

I turn around and look at Loki. When he sees me staring he forces a smile on his face. He's probably a little jealous because of Peter. He really shouldn't be though. Once we've saved my family I'll prove it to him. I turn back to the map.

"Time to go home."


	17. Chapter 17

"We should leave soon. Shouldn't be long until the sun comes up. I have an emergency spaceship hidden not far from here. We go get it and then we're out of here." Valkyrie takes another sip from the bottle.

"You've really thought of everything. Well... the sooner we get off this planet, the better." I sigh and glance at Loki. Something about the way he looks at me makes my feel guilty. But I know I shouldn't feel guilty about anything. From the beginning it was clear that we'd leave this planet. And I can't put Loki above my family. I just can't.

"Can we talk?", I whisper and Loki seems surprised. "In private", I add before starting back up the stairs.

"Where do you think you're going? If someone sees you we're doomed. So stay down here." Valkyrie angrily presses a few buttons on some monitor.

"Don't worry. We'll be back in a second." I leave without waiting for a response and without knowing if Loki even follows me. I exit through the hidden closet door and sit down on the bed that's standing lonely in a corner. Loki exits shortly after and sits down next to me. Neither of us says anything for a short while until I break the silence.

"I have to ask... Did you know Peter was here?"  
He looks at me, confused. Then the confusion turns to anger. 

"Do you honestly think I would keep something like that from you? Is that what you think of me?"

I look at the ground, ashamed that I even asked that.   
"I'm sorry. I just thought..." I pause. "You hate Peter. You almost killed him when we were at the park together. So maybe you didn't want me to see him again. Because you're scared I'd leave you."

It's quiet again. Now Loki is the one staring at the floor.  
"I did not know he was here." He looks at me. "But I understand why you'd think that. And you're right. About me being..." He doesn't finish the sentence.

I take his face in my hands. "You don't have to be scared. Because you are who I want to be with. I realized that the moment I left earth. I choose you this time. And I know it's the right decision. It was all along. Because you make me feel things I've never felt before. And because..." I hesitate.

"What?", he asks, his voice not louder than a whisper. The side of his mouth twitches and I know he's trying to hide a grin. He knows exactly what I'm going to say and he enjoys seeing me struggle. I sigh.

"Because I love you." Now he can't hide his grin any longer. "You're an ass. Do you want me to wipe that smug smile off you're face?" I try to sound angry but it's obvious he doesn't believe it. I roll my eyes at him. Suddenly he presses his lips against mine. The kiss is passionate but after a few seconds he pulls away.

"I love you too", he says finally and now I'm the one with the smug smile on my face. I kiss him again. We've been on Sakaar for years now. But this was the first time we've told each other I love you.

We break apart when a sound comes from the closet. Then Peter comes out.  
"Miss Valkyrie wanted me to go see where you are."  
Valkyrie really doesn't give a shit. What if Peter had seen us?

"Don't worry. We're coming" I say and get up.   
"No need for that. We're leaving." Valkyrie exits the closet. I glare at her for sending Peter up here but she just smirks. 

Valkyrie looks carefully out of the window. "Clear. Let's move."  
Without another word she starts running. We follow her as quickly as possible but she turns around so many corners that we almost lose her three times. Finally she stops in front of a big warehouse-like building. 

"You call that 'hidden'?", Loki asks but she ignores him and goes inside.  
"Where's the spaceship?", I ask after seeing the empty inside of the warehouse.

"Just wait and see...", Valkyrie murmurs while pressing a few buttons on her wristband. At first nothing happens but suddenly a small spaceship appears in front of us. 

"It's not big but it'll do. A friend helped me develop this technology. That way it's invisible. I hate to disappoint you but it only works when it's in a still position. So we can't just 'sneak off' this planet."

Inside the spaceship is really not much space. It's just made for escaping the planet. After that we'll have to find a bigger one. Preferably the Milano...

I let Valkyrie fly because even though I'm a fast learner she knows how to fly it better than I and that's just safer than me experimenting during an escape. Loki and Valkyrie sit down in the front and Valkyrie starts the engines. Peter and I sit down in the back and I finally build up the courage to talk to him about everything. 

"I'm really sorry I dragged you into all of this. You should be at home with May...", I say.  
"Don't say that. I wanted to come with you. It's not your fault. And I did have a great time with you. But to be honest it probably would've been better if I had stayed on earth. I mean... I thought you wanted me to go with you but when I told you about it... your reaction... I should've realized that what we had was over." 

Peter tries his best to not cry.  
I don't know what to say. He's right. Everything he says is true. 

"I'm so sorry...", I finally whisper. "I should've told you. I just didn't want to hurt your feelings. But now I know that it would've been kinder of me to tell you the truth."

He doesn't say anything so I continue. "The night when we left earth... I got really drunk and... I should've told you this a long time ago but... when I went to say goodbye to Loki... we kissed."

Neither of us says a thing. A single tear drops from Peter's eye and the guilt I feel is overwhelming. But I'm relieved that I finally told him. 

"I knew. I mean I had a feeling and as it turns out I was right. I just didn't want to admit to myself that what we had wasn't forever. And I was so stupid for thinking me coming with you would save our relationship somehow. All it did was put you in an uncomfortable position..." Peter looks at me with teary eyes. 

"Peter... you'll always have a special place in my heart. And I'll always love you. I want you to know that. But... there's just something about Loki that I can't describe. It's like I have no control over what I feel. I never meant to go behind your back but I was so convinced that I was in love with you. And I was. I really was but I also loved him... I tried my best to forget about him after we left. I tried to feel the way I did all those months. But I couldn't. And then I landed on this planet and somehow he ended up here too. And it's been so long, Peter. For you it's been just a short while but for me it's been over three years. I couldn't suppress my feelings for him for such a long time. I'm sorry..."

We're flying past the last buildings of the city and reach the endless ongoing mountains of trash. I watch the piles of garbage fly by and wonder how much longer we'll be on this planet. Finally Peter says something.

"You shouldn't feel sorry. I still love you. But that means I want you to be happy and so I don't want you to feel guilty about loving Loki. As much as I wish it was different... I'm not mad at you." I look at him, tears in my eyes, and smile before he pulls me into a hug. "Thank you", I whisper into his ear.

"We're almost at the wormhole!', Valkyrie shouts over the noise of the engines, making us break apart again. 

"There's someone following us. Can't this thing go any faster?", Loki asks impatiently.   
"I'm trying my best here, princess", Valkyrie says through gritted teeth. The other spaceship starts shooting at us but she dodges the blasts easily. "Buckle up!", she yells before we enter the purple cloud of the wormhole. The spaceship starts shaking and Peter looks at me, panic written all over his face.

It doesn't take long for us to exit the wormhole. In front of us is nothing but the emptiness of the galaxy and I sigh in relief. After all this time we're finally off this planet. 

"Everyone ok?", I ask and look around. They all nod.

"Somethings flying toward us." Peter points into the abyss of space and at first I see nothing but then I notice the little dot growing bigger and bigger every second. "It's another spaceship. But it's definitely not the Milano..."  
"Do you think it's the Kree?", Loki asks. I shake my head. "No. That's not a Kree spaceship. I've never seen one like that before."

It has almost reached us and Valkyrie is prepared to shoot at them if they turn out to be a threat to us. But so far they don't seem to be a problem. Finally they stop right in front of us and we get a good look at the crew. 

Loki sighs, annoyed.   
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me."


	18. Chapter 18

"Let them in", I tell Valkyrie and she starts pressing a few buttons.

"Hold on. I don't think that's such a good idea", Loki interjects, gaining an annoyed look from me. 

"He's your brother, Loki."  
"That doesn't mean it's a good idea to let him in."

"Too late." Valkyrie gestures at the already open door of the spaceship. We watch Thor and his companion exit their spaceship and enter ours. Valkyrie closes the door behind them and the force field that protects us from being sucked into space shuts off. Loki doesn't seem happy about Thor's appearance at all, while Peter is in awe. 

"Hello, brother." Loki's tone is restrained and careful.   
"I've been looking for you for weeks. You're in big trouble, Loki." Thor is angry and I can't blame him. Loki escaped his prison cell, probably not without causing a lot of trouble.   
"It's good to see you too. Heimdall, i'm surprised you haven't found me sooner."

"You have gotten quite good at hiding from me, Loki. But then, for some reason, you let your guard down. You were distracted." 

"You have destroyed any chance you ever had of gaining their trust", Thor interjects. "And you've lost mine. Escaping your cell is one thing, I could've forgiven you because you don't seem to have harmed anyone since then, but stealing the Tessaract? Give it back to me. Now."

I stare at Thor in confusion. "No. He didn't steal the Tessaract. We've been stranded on Sakaar for over three years. We tried to get back to my family all this time. If Loki was in possession of the Tessaract we would've used it to get off that planet. I'm telling you, he doesn't have it."

Thor glances from me to Loki and back to me. Peter and Valkyrie seem confused, not knowing what to say.

"I swear to you, brother, I did not steal the Tessaract", Loki says firmly. Thor is still unsure of what to believe. "So you're telling me it's just a coincidence the Tessaract vanished the exact day you escaped? You really think I believe you're telling the truth?"

"Well, I don't know what else to tell you. Someone else must've taken it. It may be a coincidence or maybe someone waited for the perfect chance to do it." Loki seems sincere. He's telling the truth. 

"In any case, you need to come with me. Back to Midgard. Where you'll go straight back to your cell."

"No way!", I intervene. "We need to go help my family first. They're out here somewhere. They can't be far."

"See, brother. She needs my help first."

"If the Kree seriously mean to get revenge for whatever that guy stole from them, we should not be wasting any time", Valkyrie adds.   
"Then you'll go with her. I promised to bring back Loki as soon as I find him."

"I'm not going to let you take him with you. My family may need every help they can get. And you're not going to put their lives in danger." My face turns red from anger. 

"Your family is fine. The Kree let them go", Heimdall says. 

"Uhh... guys?" No one pays Peter any mind. 

"If someone else stole the Tessaract we have to get back to Midgard right now. Your family is fine. Your heard him." Thor grows impatient. 

"I'll still go find them before returning to Terra. And i'm not going to leave them because of some stupid cube. And we're done arguing. We're wasting time!"

"We're risking lives by not going back to Midgard right now. So you-"

"GUYS!!", Peter yells and this time we all turn to him. 

"What?", I ask, sick of wasting even more time now. 

"Who is that?", he asks and points outside the window.

A giant spaceships hovers right in front of us and no one except Peter had noticed it until now because we were too busy arguing. And i know who it belongs to. 

"Get Peter out of here", I tell Valkyrie who's standing closest to me. But before anyone can do anything they start shooting at us. Everything starts shaking when the first blast hits us. I somehow manage to reach the intercom and send out a call for help. "This is y/n Quill. We are under assault and 18 jump points out of Hala. If anyone hears this, please send help!" Then the second blast hits and the walls of our ship begin to crack. 

"Who are they? What do they want?", Peter asks, terrified. 

"Thanos. I don't know what he wants from us but he is mad!"

The third blast comes toward us. "Hold onto something!", I yell. 

Peter shoots a web at one of the walls and pulls Valkyrie with him. Loki jumps at me and we fall to the ground. He grabs one of my hands and a chair that's attached to the floor. 

I've lost sight of Thor and Heimdall and the third blast finally hits. A huge piece of the roof comes off and gets sucked into space. Then I get sucked out but Loki manages to hold onto me and he doesn't let go. 

Out of the corner of my eye I see a white beam and then Thanos and some of his so called 'children' appear. One of them, who I recognise as Ebony Maw, uses his power to cover the hole in our ship with a huge piece of metal and we stop getting sucked into space.

Loki helps me get up and we stand there, unable to do anything. We can't fight them. We can't run. 

Ebony Maw steps over Heimdall, who got badly wounded during the attack. "Hear me, and rejoice. You have had the privilege of being saved by the Great Titan.... You may think this is suffering... no. It is salvation. Universal scales tip toward balance because of your sacrifice. Smile... for even in death, you have become Children of Thanos."

Now Thanos starts moving. "I know what it's like to lose. To feel so desperately that you're right... yet to fail, nonetheless." He lifts Thor by his breastplate. He was also hit pretty badly by the blast. "It's frightening. Turns the legs to jelly. I ask you, to what end? Dread it. Run from it. Destiny arrives all the same. And now, it's here. Or should I say... I am."

Thanos holds up his handing, showing us a giant gauntlet. He makes sure we all get a good look at the purple infinity stone. The power stone. 

"You talk too much", Thor says, still being held up by Thanos. Blood is running from his mouth. 

Suddenly Thanos turns to Loki. "The Tesseract, or your brother's head. I assume you have a preference."

"Why does everyone think Loki has the Tesseract? He doesn't", I say angrily. 

Thanos smiles and lets out a little laugh. "Is that what he told you?"

I glance at Loki who's avoiding my eyes. "He doesn't have it", I say again, this time with less certainty. 

"Let's try this again. The Tesseract. Now. Or I'll kill him."

"I don't have the Tesseract." Loki stares directly at Thanos. He's telling the truth. I'm sure of it. He wouldn't risk Thor's life for a stupid cube. 

Thanos seems a little surprised but he keeps his word. He holds the gauntlet up to Thor's head. The power stone starts glowing. Thor starts screaming. I'm about to use my powers to protect him before Loki intervenes. "All right, stop!" Thanos stops and drops Thor who caughs exhaustedly. 

"We don't have the Tesseract. How many more times do I have to tell you that", I say. I'm scared. For Thor. For Peter. For everyone who got dragged into this mess because of me. 

Loki sighs, defeated. I look at him and my throat tightens as he lifts up his hand revealing the Tesseract. I stare at him in disbelief shaking my head slowly. 

"You really are the worst brother", Thor says, disappointment in his voice. 

"You told me you didn't have it." My voice is barely a whisper. My body feels numb. "I trusted you. And you had it the entire time we've been stuck on Sakaar!" Tears fill my eyes although i'm not sad. I'm just angry. Angry at Loki for lying to me. And angry at myself for being stupid enough to believe a word he said. 

"Listen to me. I can expl-" I punch him in the face. He stumbles a little bit from the impact and blood starts dripping from his nose. 

"You asshole. You knew my family was in danger and you didn't care!" Loki doesn't know what to say. 

"That's enough! Give me the Tesseract", Thanos says. 

"Don't do it. You've done enough, Loki. Don't make this worse." A tear escapes my eye and I glare at him. 

Thanos laughs a little before charging at me. He grabs me by the throat and lifts me up. Breathing is getting hard. I lock eyes with Peter who jumped up, ready to fight Thanos, but was stopped by Valkyrie. I shake my head slightly, signalling him to stay where he is and out of trouble. 

Thanos seems to notice Peter and Valkyrie just now. "Kill them", he commands and a huge guy with a glaive, thus i figure it must be Corvus Glaive, starts walking towards them. 

"No!", I manage to get out. 

"Allfathers... let the dark magic flow through me one last... time", Heimdall prays. Before the giant guy can reach Peter and Valkyrie a bright beam appears and when it disappears again a second after Peter and Valkyrie are gone. 

"That was a mistake." Thanos throws me to the ground and I gasp for air. Then he grabs the glaive and stabs Heimdall through the chest and twists. 

"NO!!", Thor screams but it's too late. Heimdall is dead. "You're going to die for that!"

Ebony Maw uses his telekinesis to shut Thor's mouth with a piece of metal. Then he takes a blade and pushes it to my throat using his powers. "The Tesseract", he says to Loki. 

His eyes find mine and I shake my head. I'd rather die than let Thanos get ahold of another infinity stone. But Loki ignore me. He hands over the Tesseract and Ebony Maw drops the blade. 

Then he walks toward Thanos and kneels before him. "My humble personage... bows before your grandeur. No other being has ever had the might, nay the nobility, to wield not one, but two Infinity Stones. The universe lies within your grasp."

Thanos takes the Tesseract and crushes it between his fingers. He blows away the shreds leaving only the space stone. Then he takes it and places it on the gauntlet. A surge of energy flows through him. 

"There are two more Stones on Earth. Find them, my children, and bring them to me on Titan", he commands and the last of his children, who must be Proxima Midnight, kneels. "Father, we will not fail you."

Loki steps forward. "If I might interject... if you're going to Earth, you might want a guide. I do have a bit of experience in that area."

"If you consider failure experience", Thanos says unimpressed. 

"I consider experience, experience. Almighty Thanos, I... Loki... Prince of Asgard...", he stops a moment to glance at Thor before continuing. "Odinson... the rightful King of Jotunheim... God of Mischief... do hereby pledge to you, my undying fidelity."

I want to punch him in the face a second time for saying this but then I notice the dagger materialise in Loki's hand behind his back. At first I'm relieved that he didn't actually switch sides but then I realise that he is about to sacrifice his life in order to kill Thanos. 

Before I can do anything to stop him he thrusts the dagger upward with incredible speed. But Thanos is quicker than him and frozes his hand into place with the space stone. 

"'Undying?' You should choose your words more carefully." Thanos twists the dagger out of Lokis hand and lifts him up by his throat. Loki is obviously struggling and kicking but Thanos only tightens his grip. For a moment I enjoy watching him suffer. He betrayed me, he lied to me. He deserves this. But then I come to my senses and use my powers to protect him. 

But it doesn't help. Loki's face starts turning blue and blood seeps from his eyes. I have to stand and watch helplessly. 

"You will... never be... a god", Loki manages to get out before Thanos applies more pressure. His neck cracks and I sink to my knees. Thor screams a muffle 'No!'. 

My vision gets blurry. The sounds around me get drowned out as I watch Thanos drop Loki's body carelessly in front of Thor. "No resurrections this time." His voice seems far away. 

He raises his gauntlet and the power stone lights up. He destroys what's left of the spaceship before teleporting himself and his children away. 

Thor breaks free and crawls over to Loki's body. He rests his head on his chest and cries. The ship around us breaks apart piece by piece. I get up and stumble to Loki's body before falling on my knees once more. I take his lifeless head in my hands. I can feel my power flow through me and into him but nothing happens. Loki stays dead. 

Then the ship explodes.


	19. Chapter 19

Space is cold. It's lonely. It's quiet. And it's endless. 

When you're drifting through space, all alone, you should know you've reached the end. I know this is the end. The blast of the explosion sent me flying away at an incredible speed. I've lost sight of Thor. I've lost any sense of orientation. And I've lost hope. 

My mask doesn't work anymore. It must've broke when the ship exploded. The only thing keeping me alive right now are my powers. But slowing down the process won't stop the inevitable thing I'm about to face. Suffocation. Death. 

Space is also beautiful. It's calming. Floating through space, seeing distant stars, galaxies or nebulae, it makes you feel indescribable emotions.

I don't know how long i've been drifting away. A few minutes. Hours. Days. I truly couldn't say. My lungs feel like they're on fire. And I just won't die. 

But all this time I've been waiting for him. Waiting for him to save me just one more time. I don't care that he lied to me. I don't care that he betrayed me. I just want him to find me like he did before. To wrap me in his arms and tell me it's all going to be alright. That it was just a bad dream. But that's impossible. He's dead. 

Another thing about space. It's like a vacuum. There's no force that slows you down. You don't stop moving once you started. Never. 

I don't want to drift through space for the rest of my life. Of course my life will end soon anyway. My powers might be able to stop me from suffocating but eventually i'll have to die from starvation, dehydration. Death can't come soon enough.

I close my eyes. I'd give anything to hear the wind blowing through trees. Or birds chirping. Water flowing. But there's no sound. Nothing except the blood pumping through my body. 

Suddenly I get yanked back. I open my eyes, shocked, afraid. I look around frantically and see the familiar face of my father.

The next thing I know I'm back in the Milano, surrounded by my family and, more importantly right now, oxygen. 

"See? I told you she was still out here somewhere", says my dad. 

"I never doubted that!" Rocket yells defensively. "I knew she had to be somewhere!"

"You said she's definitely dead!" Now my dad's yelling too. 

"I was joking, Quill! Does your tiny human brain know the concept of a joke?"

"Who the hell jokes about something like that?!"

"I do!"

"Well, it was a terrible joke. You're not funny!"

"I thought the joke was quite humorous. Rocket is a comedic genius", Drax chimes in, completely in awe of Rocket's humor.

I watch them argue and a smile creeps up my face. "I've missed you guys", I mumble before hugging my dad as tightly as possible. 

"It hasn't even been three hours, y/n. But we've missed you too." Dad chuckles and hugs me back. 

"Well, for you it hasn't been that long. But for me..."

"What do you mean?", Gamora asks, confused. 

"I got sucked through a wormhole and landed on a planet called Sakaar. I don't know if you've heard of it but time there works different. I've been gone for over three years..."

Everyone is silent. I expect them to say something but no one does. Before I can break the awkward silence I notice someone laying on a table. 

"Is that Thor?", I ask surprised. How did they find him? 

"Oh, uhm yeah, he was floating through space. A lot slower than you though. We really had to chase after you. It's a good thing Mantis spotted you in the distance", dad explains. 

"Wake him up." Mantis does as she's told and places a hand on Thor's forehead. "Wake", she says and Thor sits up quickly, throwing himself off the table. He stumbles a few steps before realising where he is and who's there with him. His eyes find mine and he lets out a sigh of relieve. 

"I thought you were dead. I thought I was dead." He's still breathing heavily and I can tell that he starts to remember everything that happened... Loki's death...

"Yeah, whatever. You're both alive. Now what the hell happened?", Rocket asks impatiently. 

Thor and I explain everything. How Thanos attacked us because he wanted the space stone. How Heimdall sacrificed himself in order to get Peter and Valkyrie to earth. And how Loki died. 

"The entire time I knew Thanos, he only ever had one goal: To bring balance to the Universe by wiping out half of all life. He used to kill people planet by planet, massacre by massacre...", says Gamora, obviously worried. 

"Including my own", Drax adds sadly. 

"If he gets all six Infinity Stones, he can do it with the snap of his fingers, like this." Gamora snaps her fingers. 

"You seem to know a great deal about Thanos." Thor eyes her suspiciously. 

"Gamora is the daughter of Thanos", Drax says. 

"Your father killed my brother." Thor gets up and starts striding towards Gamora. He seems angry so I get up, ready to fight him if necessary. 

"Oh, boy. Stepfather. Technically, she hates him as much as you do." Dad diffuses the situation a little bit and Thor calms down. 

"Families can be tough." Thor puts a hand on Gamora's shoulder. "Before my father died, he told me I had a half-sister... that he imprisoned in Hel. Then she returned home, and stabbed me in the eye, so... I had to kill her. It's life, isn't it, I guess. Goes round and round and... I feel your pain."

I notice dad glancing angrily at Thor's hand on her shoulder and have to hide a little smile when he pushes between her and Thor. 

"And I feel your pain, as well. I mean it's not a competition, but I've been through a lot. My father killed my mother, then I had to kill my father. And that was hard. Probably even harder than having to kill a sister. Plus, I, came out of it with both of my eyes..." 

"We get it. Everyone here has immense family issues. Now, how do we stop Thanos from wiping out half the universe?", I ask, changing the subject. 

"I need a hammer...", Thor mumbles. "Do you have some kind of emergency pod I can use?"

"Uhm, we had one but Peter crashed it. Sorry... How about we stop at the next inhabited planet and get an extra spaceship there?", I suggest. 

"There is no time for that. We need to figure out where Thanos is going next and stop him", Gamora says. 

"Knowhere" Thor answers. 

"He must be going somewhere", Mantis says confused so my dad explains. "No. Knowhere? It's a place. We've been there. It sucks."

"Why would he go to Knowhere?", Gamora asks. 

"Because for years, the Reality Stone has been safely stored, there with a man we call the Collector." Thor presses a few random buttons. I don't know what he means to achieve. 

"If it's with the Collector, then it's not safe. Only an idiot would give that man a stone." Dad really looks for any opportunity to make himself seem smarter than Thor. Quite hilarious if you ask me. 

"Or a genius", Thor responds. 

Gamora stops them from breaking out into another argument. "How do you know he's not going for one of the other Stones?"

"There's six stones out there. Thanos already has the Power Stone because he stole it last week, when he decimated Xandar. He stole the Space Stone from me when he destroyed my ship and slaughtered half my people. The Time and Mind Stones are safe on Earth. They're with the Avengers. As for the Soul Stone, well, no one's ever seen that. No one even knows where it is. Therefore, Thanos can't get it. Therefore, he's going to Knowhere. Hence, he'll be getting the Reality Stone. You're welcome."

Who knew Thor was actually that smart? He's not very smart, I mean he did trust the Collector with an infinity stone. But he's very logical. 

"Then we have to go to Knowhere", Gamora says but Thor disagrees. "Wrong. Where we have to go, is Nidavellir."

"That's a made up word", Drax argues. 

"All words are made up." I mean... Thor is not wrong. 

I decide to start looking for the nearest planet since no one else on this ship is doing anything useful at the moment. After pressing a few buttons the nearest planet pops up on the display. Of course, it's the planet we visited before everything went to shit. Hala. 

They're still arguing. Right now it's about who the captain is or something. 

"I hate to interject but we should probably go back to Hala first. Just to drop Thor off to get a ship and then we'll go to Knowhere to kick some ass." I can hear Captain Handsome criticising my language somewhere in the distance. 

"No no no no. Did I mention no??? We just barely survived a fight with them. We're not going back there and ask for a ship. Absolutely not!" So Rocket is not a big fan of the idea. 

I look around the room to see everyone else's opinion. "Alright seems like everyone likes the idea."

"Are you listening? NO!!!" Rocket protests but no one pays him any mind. 

"Great. Hala it is."


	20. Chapter 20

Since we aren't that far from Hala anyways it takes us only a few minutes until we reach the capital of the kree civilisation. I personally don't really enjoy being here because the entire planet basically only consists of huge metal buildings. There are little to no trees or fields which makes Hala just as boring and ugly as Sakaar. 

"Do you seriously believe they will give us a ship? We stole some of their tech and fought them and now we come back here begging for their help?" Rocket is still angry but Hala is our best option right now. 

"Correction: you stole their tech," I say. "And they will help us. We'll explain the situation and they'll realise that we all need to work together if we want to stop Thanos."

"Uhm... You're forgetting that some of them worked for Thanos! Do you seriously believe that they will now fight him? We should just ask for a ship and then leave. Let's not tell them about Thanos. Worst case scenario: they're still on his side and kill us all." I hate to admit it but Rocket's got a point. 

"Fine. We'll keep quiet. Although those who worked together with Ronan were all outcasts. So technically we don't have to worry about the citizens of Hala being on his side too. They chose their side long ago." 

"We don't know for sure. There could be spies. I say we play it safe and better not risk it," Rocket insists. Thor looks pretty confused. 

"Thor, do you know anything about the Kree?," I ask him. 

"Well, they used to be at war with those shapeshifters but that's about all I know."

"With the Skrulls, yes. Back then the Kree unjustly hunted down the Skrulls to kill them. Most of the Kree weren't aware that the Skrulls were no real threat. After finding out about it their current leader, their captain or whatever they call her, made sure that all those who knowingly fought the Skrulls were punished and, those who didn't submit, outcast."

Of course I wasn't even born yet when that happened but my father told me all about it. And therefore everything that happened with Ronan and his followers made a little bit more sense to me back then. 

We finally land and immediately get surrounded by Kree soldiers. They make us step out of the ship one by one, hands up. 

"Everyone line up and slowly drop your weapons! Anyone who attempts to trick and attack us will be killed without hesitation." 

The man giving the commands is called Yon-Rogg. We met him when we visited Hala the first time. Yon-Rogg was one of the Kree who knowingly killed hundreds of Skrulls. He was allowed to stay on Hala after he admitted to his crimes. In the many years since then he had the chance to redeem himself and become commander of the Star-Force once again. 

We all drop our weapons as commanded. Thor, Groot and Mantis didn't have any to drop in the first place and therefore were eyed suspiciously by the Kree soldiers. None of them frisked them though. 

"All clear," Yon-Rogg tells the other soldiers and they relax a little. "I thought we'd seen the last of you. 'The Guardians of the Galaxy'," he said in a mocking tone. "What happened to the boy? Did you trade him for that one-eyed mountain over there?" He nods into Thor's direction. 

"I need a ship." Thor ignores the comment and gets straight to the point. 

"A ship?" Yon-Rogg seems taken aback for a second. "And you expect us to just spare one of our own? After you stole from us just this morning? I think not."

"None of us knew about that. That was Rocket alone," Gamora says, which gains an offended "Hey!" from Rocket but she ignores him. "We sincerely apologise for his actions but right now we're in desperate need of an extra ship. And we know you're civilised people so please let's forget about what happened."

Yon-Rogg thinks about her words for a moment and exchanges some looks with his people. "I don't think we have any to spare. I'm very sorry." His tone tells me that he's not. 

"Please. Any ship will do. No matter how small. We'll pay you!," Thor insists. 

"We'll what?!" Rocket is not happy about the proposal and dad looks kind of annoyed as well. 

"What he means is," dad intervenes, "If you really can't spare any kind of flying vehicle then we'll... possibly make you an offer..." His voice got quiet at the end of his sentence. 

Yon-Rogg takes a second to think before answering. "I don't know why you need a ship this badly but we have a small one that you can have. You'd have to fix it first. And then we'll talk about the price."

Relieved that he agreed we follow him to a huge building that serves as a workshop. Inside are a dozen of workers fixing or improving all kinds of spaceships and even something that looks like a train compartment. A few of them look up from their work for a second when they see us enter but most of them pay us no mind. 

"Yon-Rogg," a tiny round man greets him while eyeing us curiously. "What brings you here? I thought the rover didn't have to be done for another three days?"

"I'm not here about that, Corvus. These people need a ship. I thought we could give them the Sparrow."

Corvus looks confused. "The Sparrow? But that thing-" He is cut of by Yon-Rogg. "They're happy to fix it themselves."

Corvus just shrugs and then leads us to the back of the workshop. He pulls down a tarp that was draped over the so-called Sparrow and reveals a pretty decent looking ship. It's very small and definitely looks more like an emergency pod but it'll suffice. 

"If you can fix it it's yours. No need to pay us. But don't come back here," Yon-Rogg says and glares at us before walking away. 

"Good luck!" Corvus flashes us a quick smile before going back to his work. 

My dad and I exchange a look of uncertainty but Rocket has already started to work on some wires that are hanging out of some open patches on the outside of the Sparrow.

"I don't think we'll be able to fix that thing. Otherwise they wouldn't just give it to us without any sort of payment," I say. 

"Don't worry about it. I'll have this thing fixed in no time. There's not a ship out there I can't fix!" Rocket's skills are indeed very impressive but I really don't know about this one. 

"Alright, just tell us what to do," Gamora tells him but Rocket just laughs. "You idiots leave me alone! You'd only mess it up. Just let me do this."

So we just stand there watching Rocket do his magic. He wasn't lying when he said he could fix it because after just about ten minutes he crawls back out of the ship, a smug grin written across his face. 

"I told you losers I'd fix this piece of shit!"


	21. Chapter 21

Rocket and Groot decide to accompany Thor on his flight to Nidavellir. I don't really like the idea of us being separated, especially now that we're about to kill Thanos and need every help we can get, but Rocket insists. He would never admit it, but I know he is afraid of Thanos and doesn't want to face him. 

"Thank you. I bid you farewell and good luck, morons. Bye." Thor climbs into the ship followed by Rocket and Groot. They take off and Rocket waves goodbye while Groot is, what a surprise, playing on his game boy.

"Well, I guess we should get going, too." Dad starts toward the Milano and the rest of us follow. But we don't get far because a perplexed looking Yon-Rogg comes speed-walking toward us. 

"How did you manage to fix the Sparrow?!" He waits for an explanation but we keep going barely acknowledging him. 

"The raccoon is smarter than he looks," dad answers. 

Yon-Rogg comes after us. "That ship hasn't been flyable in over five years and you're telling me an animal managed to fix something our best mechanics couldn't?"

"Look, man, we really need to get going, savin' the universe n' stuff, but afterwards we'd be more than happy to teach you guys how to do it." Dad gives him a friendly pat on the shoulder and opens the Milano. 

"You do not have permission to leave just yet! You'll have to wait until Carol gets back. I'm sure she'd also like to talk about the stolen tech! Letting you go in the first place was a mistake I will not repeat!" Yon-Rogg sounds pretty desperate and I almost feel sorry for him but we really do need to go. 

"I'm sure Cheryl or whatever her name is will want us to save the universe first, buddy! Thanks for the ship!" Dad closes the doors of the Milano. Yon-Rogg keeps yelling something but we're already taking off and the engines are too loud to understand him.

Now we're on our way to face Thanos. And I don't think we're prepared for it. Not even remotely. But I can't tell the other's about my worries and doubts. It wouldn't matter. We'd still have to find Thanos on Knowhere and somehow manage to kill him before he gets his hands on all six infinity stones. 

I decide not to say anything and instead get some rest. So much has happened. So much went wrong in less than 24 hours. Just this morning I was still on Sakaar. Together with Loki. Now that seems like a lifetime ago. 

I sink into a corner of the ship, far away from everyone else. I know I need to sleep a little bit. I know that I am exhausted and tired. But my thoughts constantly revolve around Loki. 

I make sure that nobody else can see me before I let the tears fall. For the first time since his his death I actually have time to grieve. He lied to me, yes. But that didn't cause any damage if you think about it. Sure, he made me think we were trapped on Sakaar. Made me stay there for three years. But out here close to no time had passed so where's the harm? And hadn't I loved our time together on Sakaar? 

In fact it had been the best three years of my life. Because for the first time I felt independent and free. Of course I technically have been free my entire life; no one forces me to stay on the Milano or something like that. But up until Sakaar there were always people telling me what to do, where to go, how to behave. I'd never truly have to take care of myself or make my own decisions. 

Now I feel more mature. Like I'm not just an 18 year old girl. But then again, I've never truly been a child. The things I've seen, the things I've done... Those things pretty much kept me from ever feeling like a real kid.

I'm so lost in thought that I don't even notice Mantis sitting down next to me. She touches my arm and I jump. Mantis closes her eyes and her antenna start glowing and I know she's feeling my emotions right now. 

She opens her eyes again and I can see my own pain in them. I rip my arm out of her grasp, not because I'm embarrassed but because I really don't want her to feel the pain I feel. 

"You feel sorrow. And regret." She looks at me sadly. 

"Regret?" Do I? She nods and I know she has to be right. Why do I feel regret? Because I didn't stay on Sakaar with Loki and that's why he's dead now? Or because I didn't tell him how I felt earlier and basically wasted the time we could've spent together with pretending to still be in love with Peter? Probably a bit of both. 

"Can you make me sleep? My mind just won't shut up and I really want to get some rest before we all die at the hands of Thanos." I give her a halfhearted smile. 

She tenderly puts one hand on my forehead, whispers a soft Sleep and I immediately drift off. 

Mantis is the one to wake me again when we're just about to reach Knowhere. We go back to the others and I almost immediately notice that something is off. Dad keeps glancing at Gamora, his expression worried. What's their deal? I'm about to ask but the giant skull that's floating in front of our ship is more important at the moment. 

We fly through the eye-hole and into the skull. Everyone's quiet and focused as to notice any threat as soon as possible. 

"This place looks deserted." Dad is right. It looks as if everyone managed to flee in time. 

Drax looks at his monitor. "I'm reading movement from the third quadrant."

"Yep. I'm picking that up, too. Let's put it down right here." As quietly as possible dad lands the ship and we get out. 

We have to sneak into the Collector's collection room, now ruined, and the memory of Peter and I being here hits me like a slap in the face. I wish I could go back to that day. Everything was fine back then. And Loki alive...

We hide behind some rubble and watch as Thanos seems to be threatening the Collector. Although we're here to kill Thanos I can't help but enjoy him making the Collector pretty much piss himself. That son of a bitch. 

"I don't have it." The Collector is such a bad liar. 

"Everyone in the galaxy knows you'd sell your own brother if you thought it would add the slightest trinket to your pathetic collection." Thanos is right in the first part but I have to admit the collection is nowhere near pathetic. It's probably one of the most impressive places in the entire galaxy. Cruel and inhumane but very impressive. 

We sneak closer. Dad holds up a fist signalling us to stop but we ignore him and keep going. I love him to death but he isn't a great authority figure. 

"I know you have the Reality Stone, Tivan. Giving it to me will spare you a great deal of suffering." Thanos places a foot on the Collector's chest and presses down. 

"I told you. I sold it. Why would I lie?" Oh, I don't know, maybe because you're a lying piece of shit that shouldn't be trusted?

"I imagine it's like breathing to you", Thanos replies coldly. 

"Like suicide." The Collector seems terrified. 

Thanos is still not convinced. "So you do understand. Not even you would surrender something so precious."

"I didn't know what it was." Bullshit. How can a person be this bad at lying?

"Then you're more of a fool than I took you for," Thanos says. "Last chance, charlatan. Where's the stone?" 

I don't know why but something seems off to me. Would the Collector really risk his life for an infinity stone? Surely he must know that he'll die if Thanos doesn't get it. And the Collector might be a selfish hypocrite but he definitely values his life more than some infinity stone. Why is he so obviously lying to Thanos?

"Today..." Drax starts slowly walking towards Thanos. Fucking idiot. 

"Drax. Drax." Dad tries to calm him down and stop him from doing something stupid that'll get us all killed. 

But Drax just continues. "... he pays for the deaths of my wife and daughter." Oh boohoo. Of course I'm sorry for his loss but he can't bring them back to life so why the fuck does he constantly risk our lives just to... do what exactly? Avenge them? We're the Guardians of the Galaxy not the Avengers. Maybe he should consider switching teams...

"Drax, waaait!" Drax still ignores dad's attempt at stopping him and draws his dagger from his leg scabbard. Dad won't stop trying to prevent him from getting us all killed, though. "Not yet, not yet, not yet."

Drax looks at him for a second and then just continues sneaking towards Thanos. That fucking idiot I will kill him myself. Dad hurries after him as quickly and quietly as possible. "Drax, Drax, Drax. He doesn't have the stone yet. We get it, and then we can stop him. We have to get the stone first. Yeah."

But Drax is too impatient to wait any longer. "No. No. For Ovette. For Camaria."

I pull out my own dagger and walk toward Drax, ready to slit his throat. I don't want to do it but he'll get us all killed. Better him than us. 

But Mantis is quicker than I am. She already put her hand on the back of Drax's head. "Sleeeep." Drax is immediately knocked out. Which should be a relief but then he falls to the ground with a loud crash. We all duck as quickly as possible. 

My heart is racing. Dad and I exchange a look. I can't see Thanos anymore but there's a crashing sound coming from his direction and then footsteps coming towards us. 

"Okay. Gamora, Mantis, you go right. I'm..." Dad is being ignored again and Gamora just moves in Thanos' direction. "The other right!," dad hisses but it's too late. 

I decide to take a peak at Thanos but instead I see Gamora leaping on him, swinging her sword at him. He manages to snap the sword in half but Gamora doesn't hesitate to stab him in the throat with the stub. Thanos lets out a groan and Gamora stabs him in the chest with her red-jeweled dagger. 

"Why?," Thanos asks before falling to the ground with a thump. "Why you? Daughter..." He reaches for her with his blood covered hand but then collapses completely and Gamora breaks down, crying. 

"That was quick," dad says surprised. Again, I have the feeling that something's not right. Thanos is lying there, dead, and yet I have this sinking feeling in my stomach. "Too quick...," I mumble. 

The Collector, who's trapped in some case, starts clapping. "Magnificent! Magnificent! Magnificent!"

But suddenly Thanos starts speaking again. His body is still lying there, definitely dead, and yet his voice fills the air loud an clear. "Is it sadness I sense in you, daughter? In my heart, I knew you still cared. But one never knows for sure. Reality is often disappointing." With that everything starts changing. A red mist uncloaks the destroyed and burning room. 

"That is, it was. Now... reality can be whatever I want." Thanos appears out of nowhere, still very much alive. His gauntlet now holds three infinity stones. Power, space and, his newest addition, reality. 

"You knew I'd come," Gamora says, her face still wet from tears but the crying has stopped. 

"I counted on it. There's something we need to discuss, little one." Gamora hesitates for a second before reaching for her broken sword. But Thanos is quicker than her, grabs her by the back of the neck with his ugly abnormal gigantic hand and swings her around in front of him. I'm prepared to use my powers to protect her but Thanos makes no move to hurt her in any way. 

"Thanos!" Mantis must've woken up Drax again. They're both standing in the open instead of hiding behind some rubble like dad and I still do. 

The reality stone starts to glow for a moment and suddenly Drax is turned into cubes while Mantis turns into a ribbon-like version of herself. 

Now dad emerges from his hiding spot, pointing his blaster right at Thanos. "Let her go, Grimace!"

I follow and stand next to him. One of my hands rests on his back so I can let my protecting power run through both of us without Thanos noticing. The other one clutches my dagger tightly, ready to attack if necessary. 

"Peter..." Gamora looks pained. 

"I told you to go right," dad hisses, tears in his eyes. He's worried that Thanos will kill her but I would never let it come to that. 

"Now? Really?," Gamora asks. 

Now dad speaks directly to Thanos. "You let her go!"

"Ah, the boyfriend." Thanos eyes him curiously. 

"I like to think of myself more as a Titan-killing long-term bootycall. Let her go." 

Thanos ignores him and now turns to me instead. "I know you. I assumed you had died after I killed your pathetic boyfriend who's ego is big enough to call himself a god."

The image of Loki being strangled to death resurfaces. His face turning blue. Blood running from his eyes. The crack of his neck. Tears well up in my eyes but not just because of sadness but because of the anger that's boiling inside me.

"What who? Thor?" Dad glances at me confused and even Gamora, who definitely has more pressing concerns right now, shoots me a questioning look. 

"No. Lo-," I hesitate. "Loki..." My voice is barely audible but he understands. 

"Loki? When? How? And what about Peter?" He obviously has a lot of questions but this is not the time. 

"Can we please not talk about this right now? Let's kill this ugly shrivelled grape and then we can talk." I raise the dagger a little higher and give Thanos a threatening look. Or at least I hope I look threatening. Maybe I just look pathetic. 

Dad nods and dismisses the topic. "Let her go. Or I'm gonna blow that nut sack of a chin right off your face!"

"Not him," Gamora pleads. Dad hesitates and looks from Gamora to Thanos and back to her. "You promised! You promised!" She seems desperate. 

Now I'm the one with a lot of questions. "What are you doing, dad? Shoot him!" He doesn't react. 

"Oh, daughter. You expect too much from him." Thanos looks at dad knowingly. "She's asked, hasn't she? Do it," he urges. When dad doesn't react he shoves her closer, right in front of dad's gun which is now pointing at Gamora. "Do it!"

"I told you to go right." There are tears in his eyes and he's looking at Gamora. He's desperate, looking at her for help, for a way out. 

"I love you, more than anything," Gamora tells him. 

"I love you, too." Dad presses his eyes shut, building up the courage to shoot. 

"No...," I whisper and without thinking I use my powers to protect Gamora. The forcefield pops up the exact second dad presses the trigger. Too fast for anyone to comprehend what's happening. 

Apparently Thanos didn't notice either because he used the reality stone to turn the blast of the gun into bubbles. As soon as I realise this, the forcefield disappears. Dad never saw it in the first place since his eyes were shut. He really would've shot her. 

"I like you," Thanos tells him before teleporting himself and Gamora away, leaving us alone with the realisation that we failed.


	22. Chapter 22

"Fuck!," dad screams angrily while kicking at some rubble on the floor. Drax and Mantis have turned back to their normal selves but aren't sure how to approach him. 

I put a hand on his shoulder and it makes him look at me. "She's gone," he whispers, defeated. "I failed her... I promised to kill her before Thanos could get her. And I failed."

I don't know what to say to that. At least now I know what was going on between them, why they were acting so weird. I'm looking for the right words. 

"It's not your fault, dad. You kept your promise. You pulled the trigger. But Thanos had the reality stone..." I hesitate for a second before continuing. "And even if he didn't... I would've protected her."

He raises an eyebrow questioningly, urging me to elaborate. "I used my powers to create some kind of forcefield that would've shielded her from that blast anyways."

Dad looks at me for a moment and I'm unsure how he'll react. He'll probably be mad saying something along the lines of You had no right to do that. Gamora made her decision and it was obvious she wanted me to do it! 

But instead he pulls me into a hug. "You did the right thing. I don't know if I could've lived with the fact that I killed her." I sigh in relief. Fighting with dad would've just added to the list of problems. And they already seem to be piling up. 

"Besides, we still have the chance to rescue her." He pulls away from the hug and pats my head. 

"And kill that son of a bitch," I add. He smirks. "And kill that son of a bitch, yes."

Mantis interrupts us. "And where exactly did they go?" Dad rubs his temples and sighs. "I have no idea..."

————————————————————————

We're back on the ship now and dad's starting the engine. Once we're up in space we get together to make a plan. 

"Alright, let's think rationally," I say. "Thanos needs three more infinity stones. Thor said that nobody knows where the soul stone is. But both mind and time are on Terra. Which means that is where he's headed."

The others think for a second but then all agree. "That makes perfect sense but why would he need Gamora for that?," dad wonders. 

I shrug. He's taking a moment to think and then looks at us. He seems almost scared. "This might be just a dumb theory but... Gamora told me she knew something that Thanos cannot know. That's why she made me promise to kill her.   
Now what information could she possibly possess that makes her this afraid? Thanos mentioned that he and Gamora need to have a talk. About what would they talk right now?   
He wants the infinity stones more than anything. So why would he waste time with her unless it brings him any closer to achieving his goal?" Dad looks at all of us, awaiting an answer. Mantis and Drax are still clueless but I know what he's getting at. 

"She knows where the soul stone is." It's not a question. It's obvious that this is the reason for all this. 

"Exactly," dad says. 

"But we don't know the location of the soul stone. How are we going to find her?," Mantis asks. None of us know how to answer that.

"Maybe we should just go to Terra. Peter and Valkyrie probably already told the Avengers about Thanos and their preparing for his attack right now. So let's go and help them," I suggest. 

"What about Gamora?," Drax asks. 

"Well... Thanos didn't seem like he wants to hurt her. She's his daughter after all. I'm sure she'll be safe. But he'll make her tell him the location of the soul stone. Which means we have even more reason to go to Terra to protect the other two stones because if he gets his hands on them we'll all be screwed."

Dad nods slowly. "Yeah, you're probably right. That's what Gamora would want us to do. No matter if she's safe or not she'd want us to stop Thanos."

"That's very noble, Quill," Drax says. 

"Yeah, yeah, I know..." Dad makes a disregarding movement with his hand and then sets course on Terra. 

————————————————————————

After flying for only twenty minutes there's already a lot of tension. Dad had been listening to 'New York Groove' over and over again and Drax got tired of it so he turned the music off. This resolved into a discussion of them blaming each other for losing against Thanos. 

That's when Mantis chimes in and points out that we've received a secret coded message from Nebula, telling us to go to Titan. So that's where we're headed now.

The flight doesn't even take us an hour. First we examine Titan from a distance. The entire moon seems abandoned. There's a lot of rubble and dust, signs of the now destroyed buildings. I've never been to Titan but it used to be a very beautiful home to a lot of people. And Thanos. 

"There." Dad points at the monitor. "You see that? There's a ship. A pretty large one. It has to be Thanos. Or at least some of his people... Let's get a closer look."

We fly closer and see the donut-shaped spaceship with our own eyes. "It crashed," I point out. 

"Whoever flew the ship must still be inside. There's no movement being picked up." Dad watches the monitor closely to see if anything changes but it doesn't. 

We decide to land behind a large ruin so that our ship is hidden and approach the donut-ship. 

"Alright," dad whispers. "I'll throw in some smoke and stun grenades and then we go in. We get Gamora and kill the rest. If she's not in there then we have to get it out of them." We nod in agreement, dad and I put our masks on and follow his plan. 

First the grenades. Dad throws them, waits for them to blow and then we storm in. It's not really easy to see them because of all the smoke. 

"THANOS!," Drax yells before attacking someone in a cloak. The guy magically dodges his blades so I decide to help Drax, who is now being pretty much smothered by the cloak. 

I run at the guy, dagger in hand, and jump on him. We both go to the ground and I try to stab him but with a flick of his hand I get thrown a few feet and hit a wall. Pain shoots through me and I need a moment to gasp for air. 

When I get back up everyone is standing in a circle and dad holds his gun against this one guy's head. As I get closer I can now fully make out everyone. For a second I think that one guy looks like Tony but the suit looks different and besides, what would he be doing here on Thanos' ship?

"Alright, everybody, stay where you are... chill the fuck out!" Dad removes his mask. "I'm gonna ask you this one time. Where is Gamora?"

The other guy removes his helmet as well and I laugh. It really is Tony!

"Good to see you again, Quill," Tony says and puts his arm down. "Or maybe not. Why the hell would you attack us?!"

"We didn't know it was you." I join them in the circle. 

"Y/n?" The guy my dad was threatening removes his mask as well and I freeze. "Peter? What are you doing here?"

Dad finally lets go of him. "Sorry, Pete, didn't recognise you in that costume."

"It's not a costume...," he mumbles. 

"Why are you here? Heimdall sacrificed his life so you and Valkyrie would be safe on Terra." I turn around to Tony. "That's where you should be as well, by the way. You guys have no business being in space. You have no experience in this territory."

"Squidward and his ugly big friend attacked earth in this flying donut and you expect us to do nothing about it?" Tony raises an eyebrow challengingly. 

"I didn't say you shouldn't defend Terra. But why would you go on their ship? Where are they anyway?"

"They wanted the time stone." The guy in the cloak points at his necklace. "Stark and the kid made sure they didn't get their hands on it."

"And who are you?," I ask, kind of annoyed. Annoyed because they're here instead of safe on Terra. Annoyed because we didn't find Gamora yet. 

"Doctor Strange."

"You certainly seem strange..." He shoots me a look that says Really?.

"Where are the others? And where's Thor and Loki?," Peter asks, searching the room for them. 

"Thor, Rocket and Groot went to Nidavellir to get a new hammer or something. Thanos took Gamora; that's why we're looking for her." I hesitate. "And Loki is..." I don't end the sentence but everyone seems to understand what I'm getting at. 

"I'm sorry," Peter says. And he actually seems genuine. 

"Great. One problem less. That bastard stole the Tesseract when he escaped earth...," Tony says, oblivious to the fact that Loki meant something to me. I wince at his words.

"Doesn't matter now," dad says, trying to change the topic because he sees the look on my face. "We need a plan to stop Thanos."

We go outside and look around the planet while trying to come up with a useful plan. 

"The fuck happened to this planet? It's eight degrees off its axis. Gravitational pull is all over the place." Dad fumbles around with some tech. Mantis seems to enjoy the fact that there are some low gravity spots because she's jumping up and down in one a few feet away while Peter watches her, seemingly wanting to join. 

"Yeah, we got one advantage. He's coming to us. We'll use it. All right, I have a plan. Or at least the beginnings of one," Tony says. "It's pretty simple. We draw him in, pin him down, get what we need. Definitely don't wanna dance with this guy. We just want the gauntlet."

Drax responds with a yawn and Tony shoots him an angry look. "Are you yawning? In the middle of this, while I'm breaking it down? Huh? Did you hear what I said?"

"I stopped listening after you said, We need a plan."

Tony turns to dad. "Okay, Mr. Clean is on his own page."

I roll my eyes. "Can everyone please concentrate for a minute? We don't know how soon Thanos will be here so we probably shouldn't waste any more time."

Surprisingly everyone listens and gathers in a small circle. "Alright, we're optimistic, yes. I like your plan. Except it sucks, so let me do the plan, and that way it might be really good," dad says. 

"Seriously?" I glare at him. "When did you ever come up with a good plan?"

"What? All the time."

"Your plans always suck."

"I think the dance-off was a great idea," Drax chimes in. 

"That was pure luck. Any normal person would've known it was a distraction. Ronan was just dumb." I pause. "Can we please focus on the plan again?" 

I wait for someone to say something and look around the circle. Then my eyes land on the strange doctor who's floating cross-legged above the ground doing some weird gestures with his hands. "You have got to be kidding me. Tony, what's that guy doing now?"

Tony seems just as confused. He walks up to him. "Strange, we alright?"

Suddenly Dr. Strange snaps back, looking startled. He's panting a little. "I went forward in time to view alternate futures. To see all the possible outcomes of the coming conflict."

"How many did you see?," dad asks. 

"16,400,274."

"How many did we win?" Tony raises an eyebrow and Dr. Strange stares at him intently. 

"Three." 

Everyone's quiet for a second. 

"Well...," I say awkwardly. "Personally I don't really like those odds."

Still, no one says anything. 

"Will you at least tell us what we have to do in order to win?" I'm growing impatient. 

Dr. Strange takes a deep breath and thinks for a moment. "If I told you what has to happen it won't happen."

"Alright. Great. So we're just supposed to wing it."

"We'll win. Just trust me."

"Trust you? I don't even know who the fuck you are! Why should we trust you?" At this point I'm just really annoyed. Dad puts a hand on my shoulder to calm me down but I just glare at him. 

"You have no other choice." Dr. Strange gets up. 

"Thanos is almost here."


	23. Chapter 23

"Alright. You guys hide somewhere. Let me do the talking and wait for my sign. Tony, see that huge piece of wreckage over there?" Doctor Strange points at what looks like the ruins of a once huge building. "I need you to get this up in the air and then drop it with full force on Thanos. But again, wait for my sign!"

"What sign?", I ask, finally revealing the question everyone has been asking themselves.

"I'll talk to him, see if we can come to an agreement. We probably won't, so the second I reveal that it's not just me here, you guys attack. Everyone understand?" We all nod but Doctor Strange is staring at Drax who has his eyes closed and seems to be sleeping. Doctor Strange looks really angry so I try to calm him down quickly. "Don't worry. He'll attack when we attack. He won't miss it."

"Fine... Now everybody go and hide behind something. We need the element of surprise if we want to win."

We all do as he says. Peter and I get behind a large ruin and sit down. I can see dad hiding a couple feet away from us and even Drax seems to understand the plan because he and Mantis duck behind a large chunk of stone. 

"I'm so sorry I dragged you into all this, Peter...", I whisper. He looks at me and grins slightly. "You've already told me this."

"Yeah I know. But I really mean it. It's my fault that you're here. And that you're probably going to die on this planet..." Now he really laughs and dad shoots us an angry look telling us to be quiet. 

"First of all, I'm not here because of you. I'm here because it's the right thing to do. This Thanos guy is dangerous and he's threatening the lives of countless people. Nothing you'd say or do could stop me from helping you guys fight that son of a bitch." I raise a shocked eyebrow at his use of words but don't say anything. "And secondly, I'm not going to die on this planet. And neither are you or anyone else for that matter. Because Doctor Strange has seen the future and he knows exactly what we have to do in order to win. So I trust him to lead us. And you should too. I know you don't know him - I don't know him either - But I know that he'll do anything to protect that time stone, which means there is no way in hell that Thanos gets his hands on it."

"Peter, I-", I start but I stop abruptly at the sound of something like a portal opening. Then I hear Doctor Strange talking, calmly. "Oh, yeah, you're much more of a Thanos." I can't see him or Thanos and I know that they can't see me but nevertheless I try to stay as still as possible.

"I take it the Maw is dead. This day extracts a heavy toll. Still, he accomplished his mission." The mere voice of that purple bastard is making the anger inside of me boil up. The image of Loki's dead corpse lying on the ground comes back vividly and worse than ever. The sound of his neck cracking keeps being replayed over and over inside my head. My entire body is trembling. I'm so full of rage. I'll do anything to see this motherfucker die in the moist painful way possible.

I don't even notice that I made a move towards Thanos until Peter pulls me back, a worried and kind of terrified expression plastered on his face. "What are you doing? We need to stick to the plan!", he hisses and I take a deep breath before sinking back to the ground and leaning against the ruin we're hiding behind.

"I'm sorry...", I breathe, tears now blurring my vision. The voices of Doctor Strange and Thanos seem oddly far away. I turn my head away from Peter. I don't want him to see me cry. Not right now. But it's to late. I'm preparing myself for soothing words that I don't want to hear right now but instead he just pulls me into a hug. I lean my head on his shoulder and focus on calming myself down. I cannot let myself get distracted by my emotions right now. Doctor Strange could give us his sign any moment now. The voices slowly start to come back/

"And then what?" I hear Doctors Strange asking/

"I finally rest... and watch the sun rise over a grateful universe. The hardest choices require the strongest wills." What a bunch of bullshit.

"I think... you'll find... our will... equal to yours." I stare at Peter. This is the sign.

"Ours?" Suddenly there's a loud crash. Peter and I jump up to see what's happening and ready to join the fight. It was Tony who managed to crush Thanos with that huge pile of wreckage Doctor Strange told him to use earlier. We all walk slowly towards the place where Thanos stood just seconds ago.

"Piece of cake, Quill." Tony flies a few feet above the ground. Dad now activates his mask and approaches the crash site uncertainly. "Yeah, if your goal was to piss him off."

I'm about to say something when suddenly the wreckage on top of Thanos erupts, glowing purple. Thanos lets out an angry scream and turns the wreckage above him into bats which he sends after Tony who gets swarmed and dragged away by them. Before anyone can react Peter already webs Thanos' eyes and swings in to kick him in the face. Now everyone else joins in and we all try to force Thanos to the ground. I take out my dagger and transform it into a sword before charging at Thanos as well. I jump off the ground and bring my sword down right on the arm with the gauntlet on but instead of cutting it off or even wounding him in any sort of way it just breaks. I stand there, dumbstruck and don't know what to do, looking at the broken end of my sword.

Now I don't know what to do. My powers are useless against Thanos and everyone else seems to be doing fine so far. My weapon is destroyed and all I can do is watch everyone else battling the guy that I planned on killing. I have to do something. I start charging at Thanos and jump off the ground once more before landing on his shoulders. He tries to shake me off while simultaneously fighting everyone else. I grab onto his head and get an idea. I press my fingers into his eyes which makes him scream in pain. He suddenly throws himself to the ground crushing my entire lower body. I cry out, the pain blurring my vision. I can hear Peter kicking Thanos while saying something to him and then hear him scream as Thanos throws him. 

I'm still lying on the ground. I can't focus on anything but the unbearable pain. Then suddenly someone drags me away and I can hear a loud crashing sound. "Hey kid, you're gonna be fine. But I need you to heal yourself, alright? Can you do that?" Tony sounds worried. I can make out his head over my own. He's nervously glancing back and forth from me and something else that's happening in the distance. "Y/n, I need you to heal yourself!", he says more urgently. "I gotta go help the others. Use your powers!" He flies away and I'm alone with my thoughts. 

Is this how Loki felt? Was his death just as painful and lonely? I stare at the blurry sky above. It almost feels peaceful. And the thought of being reunited with Loki soon puts a smile on my face. The pain has stopped. I don't feel anything at all now. Not long until I see him again.

"You need to use your powers!" I jump up and immediately scream because the pain is back and is so much worse than before. But I don't lay back down. Maybe I'm starting to go crazy but I'm sure I just heard Loki's voice. I look around frantically but I can't see him anywhere.

"Y/n, why haven't you healed yourself yet?!" I sink back to the ground. It's not Loki. Peter's terrified face pops up above me. "Come on. Don't do this to me now. Please don't do this to me."

"What's going on? What happened?" Doctor Strange pops up next to Peter, his expression even more worried than Peter's. "Why hasn't she healed herself yet?"

"No, no, no, no, no." Dad pushes Peter and Doctor Strange away and takes my face in his hands. "Come on, honey. You're not dying, ok? You just have to use your powers, that's all. Come on."

A tear rolls down my cheek. "I don't want to...", I mumble, my voice a barely audible whisper. "You don't know what you're saying. Come on, Y/n. I know you can do it. The pain will go away. Come on." Dad keeps begging me to heal myself. I don't even know how to do that anymore. And what's the point anyway?

"Quill, she needs to live. She needs to use her powers we cannot let her die", Doctor Strange tells dad urgently. This makes him angry. "She's not going to die! She's my daughter. I won't lose her too!"

"I didn't mean to offend you. But this is important. She mustn't die. If she dies we all die. So someone has to get her to use her damn powers right now. Before it's too late..."

Everyone is silent for a moment, pondering what to do. I know they're disappointed in me. I am too. But I don't even know how to move anymore let alone use my powers to heal myself. Then, suddenly, I hear him again. Whispering in my ear, so quiet that only I can hear him.

"I know you can do it." 

I jump again and dad helps me to sit up. "Yes! Very good, honey. Now use your powers."

"Where is he?", I ask, looking around for a sign of Loki.

"He... he got the stone. And now he's gone to get the last one." Dad looks at me, his eyes filled with sadness. "Come on. Please use your powers."

My entire body is aching and all I want to do is lay back down, close my eyes and fall asleep. Why can't they just leave me alone?

"Use your powers, Y/n", he whispers in my ear again. Another tear rolls down my face and I let out a sob as I force my body to heal. I scream when my bones put themselves back together. The healing process is more painful than I could've imagined and it takes every bit of self control I have to not just stop. The thirty seconds it takes for my entire body to heal feel more like an hour. But then finally I can stop. The sweat that's covering my body makes me shiver as a breeze of wind blows.

"Thank god. Don't ever do this to me again", dad whispers while pulling me into a strong hug. "I'm sorry..." I hug him back tightly before getting up slowly. There's no sign of Thanos and now the realization hits that we really did lose. My eyes meet Nebula's. When did she get here?

"Alright, kid, can you patch us all up? I know you've just been through a lot but that doesn't mean our injuries don't hurt." Tony comes limping towards me with Peter's help.

"Yeah, sure. Sorry, of course." I start by healing a huge stab wound in Tony's stomach. "What happened to you?", I ask surprised. "Thanos stabbed me with my own tech. Talk about karma, huh?" Tony lets out a small breath as the wound closes.

I turn around to the others. "Who's next?" I look at Mantis who seems to feel weird. "Mantis, what about you? You don't look that good."

"Somethings happening." She stares helplessly into my eyes before disintegrating into ashes. We all stare in shock at the spot where Mantis stood a second ago.

"Quill?" Drax looks at dad before he vanishes as well. 

Dad takes a step towards me before stumbling. He grabs my shoulder for support but before I can do anything he dissolves right in front of my eyes. "No... what is happening? No! Strange you promised we'd win!" I look at him desperately.

"There was no other way", he says calmly before disintegrating.

"Mr Stark? I don't feel so good." Peter looks from Tony to me, tears in his eyes. Without thinking I grab his arm which already starts to fade away. "Peter? This is not happening to you." I use all the strength I have to heal Peter's slowly dissolving body. It seems to be working because so far he's still standing. He looks at me, terrified. 

"You have to let me go", he whispers desperately. I shake my head, tears filling my eyes. "No, I can't do that. You're all I've got left." 

Suddenly, my vision goes black for a moment and we both fall to the ground. Tony tries to catch us. My entire body feels like it's on fire, like tiny needles piercing into my skin. I can now see my own arms, which are still clutching Peter, starting to dissolve slowly. "Y/n. Please." Peter stares into my eyes, a tear rolling down his cheek. Then suddenly he rips himself away from me. The burning stops. My arms are back to normal. 

Tony holds Peter in his arms. I try to grab him again but the second I touch him his skin dissolves.

"I'm sorry", he whispers before the res of him vanishes too. I sink to the floor, defeated. They're all gone. I look at Tony who just stares at his own hands in disbelief. "He did it", Nebulas voice echoes from behind me.

I don't even know what to do. I want to cry but somehow the tears have stopped coming. This just feels so unreal. It's me who should've died. I wish I had.

Now I have nothing left.


End file.
